Vestibular Rehab
Vestibular disorders (inner ear/balance) include issues with:
- Vertigo
- BPPV (benign paroxysmal positional vertigo)
- Dizziness
- Visual disturbances
- Balance
Examination
A thorough examination of symptoms, medical history, medications, etc. will always be performed to help determine the best course of treatment. Questions that may be asked during the examination include:
- When did the symptoms begin?
- Are your symptoms spontaneous or related to movement?
- What seems to trigger the symptoms? (ex. Turning over in bed, trying to read, unstable feeling)
- How long do the symptoms last when they occur? (seconds, minutes, hours?)
- Have you had any recent change in medications?
Treatment
Vestibular rehabilitation aims to reduce or eliminate the symptoms patients suffer from these disorders through 4 primary methods.
Habituation
- Exercises designed to help treat symptoms of dizziness that are brough on by positional changes or head movements. Example: turning over in bed or looking up to put in eye drops cause
Gaze Training
- Exercises designed to improve control of eye movement so steady your vision during head movements. These are selected for patients whose symptoms are triggered specifically with eye movements. Example: trying to focus on text
Balance Training
- Exercises designed to help improve balance, stability, and reduce fall risk. These are selected for patients that are unstable due to their symptoms
BPPV Positional Movements
- Treatment that includes a series of head and body movements that your therapist will take you through in order to reposition loose calcium crystals in your inner ear
Our physical therapists will utilize the
appropriate means of treatment based on the patient's symptoms. Through skilled
vestibular rehabilitation therapy, our patients are able to make remarkable
improvements in their vestibular disorders.
