Some days the walk to the letterbox feels like too much. Your knees ache, your balance feels shaky or your body is still healing after surgery, and a gym program sounds a long way off. Hydrotherapy gives you somewhere to start. It's exercise in a warm pool, guided by a physiotherapist, and the water takes enough load off your body that movements you can't manage on land often become possible again. This guide covers what happens in a hydrotherapy session, who it suits (and wh

It's not a pounding headache. It's a suddden, intense vertigo that makes a stationary room feel like it is spinning, swaying or tilting. Ordinary lights can become painfully bright. Everyday noises may feel overwhelming. While you might appear perfectly still to anyone watching, your inner ear and brain are battling severe dizziness. You leave struggling to find your footing until the episode finally passes and your equilibrium returns. That's what vestibular migraine looks l

The room isn't moving. Your inner ear has just convinced your brain that it is, and that mismatch is what vertigo actually is. Working out which of the many vertigo causes is behind it matters, because the fix for one is often useless for another. This guide runs through the most common causes, how long each one tends to last, the signs that need urgent care and when it's worth seeing a physio rather than waiting it out. What Is Vertigo, Exactly? Vertigo is a false sense of m

Every 11 minutes, someone in Australia has a stroke. Bell's palsy is more common than most people realise too, an estimated 20 to 30 people in every 100,000 each year, and it can look almost identical: one side of the face suddenly refusing to work. That's what makes Bell's palsy vs stroke such a hard call from the mirror. Here's the fact that matters most right now. You can't reliably tell the two apart by looking, and you shouldn't try. Sudden facial weakness is treated as

You stand up, the room tilts, and for a few seconds, you have to grab the nearest chair while you wait for your vision to clear. If you find yourself feeling dizzy when standing up, you probably blame your head for that swimmy, lightheaded feeling. But the real culprit is actually much lower. Every time you transition from sitting to standing, gravity immediately tries to pull almost a litre of blood down into your legs. To keep your brain fueled, your blood vessels have a sp

Your hand shakes while you're holding a coffee cup, signing a form or trying to thread a needle. The question that follows is simple: why, and should you worry? For most people, an occasional shake is nothing serious. Too much caffeine, a bad night's sleep or nerves before a big meeting can all be the cause. For others, it's an early sign of a neurological condition, and finding out early makes a real difference. This guide covers what causes shaking hands, from common everyd