29/01/2019
What is vestibular rehabilitation?
Vestibular rehabilitation is an exercise-based program, designed by a trained vestibular physical therapist, to improve balance and reduce problems related to dizziness.
How is dizziness defined?
Dizziness can be described as:
Feelings of unsteadiness
Wooziness (swimming feeling in head)
Lightheadedness
Feelings of passing out
Sensations of moving
Spinning
Floating
Swaying
Tilting
Whirling (sensations known as vertigo)
These feelings or sensations can occur when you are standing still, lying down or changing positions. The symptoms can be constant or episodic in nature, only lasting seconds, minutes or hours.
What causes dizziness?
Each year, more than 10 million patients visit a physician due to dizziness. It is the most common complaint of patients over the age of 75, but it can occur in patients of any age.
Dizziness is generally not serious, but is often a sign of a mechanical problem. Dizziness can be due to an inner ear disorder, a side effect of medications, a sign of neck dysfunction, or it can be due to a more serious problem such as a brain or a heart problem.
Who benefits from vestibular rehabilitation?
Patients typically referred for vestibular rehabilitation therapy are those diagnosed with dizziness, imbalance, vertigo, Meniere’s syndrome, benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV), neck-related dizziness and migraines. Other candidates are patients who have had a stroke or brain injury or who frequently fall.
Common symptoms that can be helped with vestibular rehabilitation include:
Dizziness or blurry vision with head movements
Neck tightness, stiffness and/or pain
Imbalance or the need to hold onto objects when walking
Headaches
Frequent falls
Generalised “dizziness, wooziness and foggy head” feelings
Vertigo/spinning
