Jason Day: What is benign positional vertigo?
Golf Culture U.S. Open

Jason Day: What is benign positional vertigo?

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After collapsing on the ninth hole on Friday at Chambers Bay, Jason Day is giving it a go in Round 3 of the 2015 U.S. Open. Day warmed up somewhat gingerly on the range less than 24 hours after being diagnosed with benign positional vertigo.


Benign positional vertigo is the most common form of vertigo and, really, a fancy term to describe the feeling that everything is spinning around you. Day's been dealing with these kinds of symptoms since 2010, according to his wife, Ellie, who spoke to GolfChannel.com. In August 2014, Day withdrew from the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational with these symptoms. In May, Day withdrew from the AT&T Byron Nelson for the same reason.

What causes benign positional vertigo is when a piece of calcium breaks off in the inner ear and gets into the semicircular canals, which are fluid-filled tubes that tell the brain our position relative to the ground. That's why Day collapsed while walking toward the ninth green. Suddenly, his brain received a signal telling him that he wasn't actually upright. It caused dizziness and a loss of balance, leading to the fall just shy of the putting surface. Day finished out the hole -- his last of his Friday round -- after receiving medical attention for about 10 minutes. He made a bogey to shoot even-par 70 and finish at 2-under 138 through 36 holes.

Day's wife, Ellie, who is pregnant with the couple's second child, was on the scene to look after her husband. She has also suffered from vertigo-like symptoms in the past.

Day hasn't been able to figure out the root cause of his vertigo, but has been undergoing tests in hopes of understanding it. The Aussie has undergone myriad sleep studies because restless sleep and associated tossing and turning can set on vertigo. The onset of vertigo symptoms can be sudden and without warning, which is why Day's trainer is out on the course with him as he plays in Round 3 on Saturday.

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Ryan Ballengee

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