Vertigo Relief: How to Do the Epley Manoeuvre for BPPV at Home

A step-by-step guide to the Epley manoeuvre — an effective, drug-free way to relieve BPPV vertigo — demonstrated by a chiropractor with over 24 years of clinical experience.

BPPV (benign paroxysmal positional vertigo) is one of the most common causes of vertigo — the sudden sensation that you, or the room, are spinning. It’s typically triggered by specific head movements, such as turning over in bed, tipping the head back, or looking up. The cause is mechanical: tiny calcium crystals (otoconia) that normally sit embedded in gel in the balance organ of the inner ear become dislodged and drift into one of the semicircular canals, where they disturb the balance signals and bring on the spinning sensation.

The good news is BPPV responds well to a simple repositioning technique — the Epley manoeuvre — which guides those crystals back to where they belong. Our chiropractor Jasper Hulscher explains the inner-ear anatomy, walks through the Epley manoeuvre step by step for both sides, and shares aftercare tips to help stop it returning.

Important: vertigo and dizziness have many possible causes, and the Epley manoeuvre only helps BPPV. Have your dizziness assessed by a GP, chiropractor, or specialist to confirm it’s BPPV before relying on this, and don’t self-treat undiagnosed dizziness.

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[00:00] What BPPV is — benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, one of the most common causes of vertigo: a sudden spinning sensation triggered by changes in head position (like turning in bed).

[00:45] The cause (anatomy) — tiny calcium crystals (otoconia), normally embedded in gel in the inner-ear balance organ, become dislodged and drift into a semicircular canal, disturbing the balance signals and causing brief episodes of dizziness.

[02:50] The Epley manoeuvre — a sequence of controlled head and body positions, each held ~30 seconds (or until the dizziness settles), that guides the crystals back out of the canal to where they belong. Demonstrated for both the right and left side.

[05:52] Aftercare — keep the head fairly upright for the rest of the day, sleep propped up for a couple of nights, and avoid the movements/positions that trigger it while it settles, to help prevent recurrence.

Throughout: confirm it’s BPPV with a professional first; the manoeuvre helps BPPV, not other causes of dizziness.

BPPV (benign paroxysmal positional vertigo) is one of the most common causes of vertigo — a sudden sensation that you or the room is spinning, usually triggered by specific head movements such as turning over in bed or tipping the head back. It has a mechanical cause: tiny calcium crystals called otoconia, which normally sit embedded in gel within the balance organ of the inner ear, become dislodged and drift into one of the semicircular canals, where they disturb the fluid and the balance signals, producing brief episodes of dizziness. BPPV responds well to a repositioning technique called the Epley manoeuvre — a set sequence of head and body positions, each held around 30 seconds, that guides the crystals back out of the canal. This video demonstrates the manoeuvre step by step for both sides and shares aftercare (staying fairly upright, sleeping propped up for a couple of nights, and avoiding trigger positions while it settles) to reduce the chance of recurrence. Because vertigo and dizziness have many other causes and the manoeuvre only helps BPPV, it’s important to have the diagnosis confirmed by a professional first and not to self-treat undiagnosed dizziness.