By Marcello Cherchi, MD PhD
Dr. Tapani Rahko developed a maneuver for treating anterior canal BPPV (Rahko 2002).
The following Figure, from Savas and colleagues (Savaş et al. 2024), shows the Rahko maneuver for treating right-sided anterior canal BPPV.
The Rahko maneuver for treating right-sided anterior canal BPPV can be described as follows:
- The patient starts in a neutral seated position.
- The patient lies laterally on the unaffected (left) shoulder and inclines the head/neck laterally (toward the ground) off the edge of the table by 45 degrees. This position is maintained for 30 seconds.
- The patient raises the head back up 45 degrees so that the head/neck is in a neutral position with respect to the torso. This position is maintained for 30 seconds.
- The patient flexes the head/neck 45 degrees laterally toward the affected (right) shoulder. This position is maintained for 30 seconds.
- The patient sits back up in a neutral position.
Rahko maneuver, right anterior canal, videos
The Rahko maneuver has been studied in a prospective trial with no control group (Rahko 2002).
References
Rahko T (2002) The test and treatment methods of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo and an addition to the management of vertigo due to the superior vestibular canal (BPPV-SC). Clin Otolaryngol Allied Sci 27: 392-5. doi: 10.1046/j.1365-2273.2002.00602.x
Savaş Ö, Cüreoğlu S, Güneri EA (2024) Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo. In: Kalcioglu MT, Bayar Muluk N, Jenkins HA (eds) Neurotology Updates. Springer Nature Switzerland, Cham, pp 91-136
