Foster Maneuver
The foster maneuver is a way to relieve vertigo or dizziness. Vertigo is illusory, but it can be very real regarding the distress and discomfort it causes. The foster maneuver can help with that discomfort.
If you have vertigo, you may experience a feeling as if the ground is moving or your body is spinning around. Your eyes will attempt to compensate for this by moving to compensate for the illusion of movement. In reality, you are standing still, and your head and body are moving.
This eye movement can worsen your vertigo because it misleads your brain into thinking that you are spinning or moving when you are not. That is why the foster maneuver works: by tricking your eyes into believing that they are moving while your body stays still, they focus on one place and reduce their involuntary eye movements. This stops your body’s illusory movement and reduces vertigo.
The foster maneuver involves looking at a fixed point on the wall in front of you while slowly turning from side to side. For the exercise to work, it needs to be done smoothly so that there is no sudden jerkiness that might confuse your eyes even more (and therefore make them move more). Keep your focus on the wall and slowly begin to turn. When your eyes lose focus, stop turning and look back at the fixed point again. Repeat this process a few times until you feel more comfortable with it.
