Vestibular Rehabilitation

Vestibular rehabilitation (VR) is a special type of therapy designed to help people with vestibular disorders, which affect balance and cause dizziness. It’s an exercise-based program that aims to reduce symptoms like vertigo (a spinning sensation), dizziness, unsteady vision, and balance issues that can lead to falls. For many people, the damage to the vestibular system (part of the inner ear that controls balance) is permanent. However, the brain can learn to use other senses like vision and body awareness to compensate for the loss, helping you feel better and regain your ability to function.

How Does It Work?

When you come in for vestibular rehabilitation, a physical therapist will start by assessing your symptoms and looking at your medical history. The assessment might include checking:

• Balance and leg strength/flexibility
• How you walk (gait)
• How stable your vision is and how well your eyes move
• Neck movement and the strength of your neck and arms
• Positions that may trigger your symptoms, including an inner ear exam

The main goal of VR is to help your brain compensate for the vestibular damage by using exercises tailored to your specific problems. To create the best exercise plan, a thorough examination is needed. Depending on what’s found, the therapy might focus on three main types of exercises:

1.  Habituation: Exercises that reduce dizziness by exposing you to the movements or positions that make you dizzy, helping your brain get used to them.

2.  Gaze Stabilization: Exercises that improve your ability to keep your vision steady when your head moves.

3.  Balance Training: Exercises that help you become more stable and confident in your movements.

Conditions/Symptoms Treated

Vestibular rehabilitation is often recommended for people who have conditions like:

• Dizziness or blurry vision when moving your head
• Neck pain, stiffness, or tightness
• Imbalance or needing to hold onto something while walking
• Headaches
• Frequent falls
• General feelings of dizziness, wooziness, or a foggy head
• Vertigo or spinning sensations

Who Will Benefit?

Vestibular rehabilitation can be very helpful for anyone experiencing dizziness, ear pressure, nausea, ringing in the ears, chronic headaches, or balance problems. If you stick with the exercises, you can expect a significant reduction in symptoms, and in some cases, the symptoms may go away completely.

One common vestibular issue is Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV), where physical therapy has been very successful. For BPPV, treatment might only take a few sessions focused on specific movements to reposition crystals in your inner ear. If your symptoms are related to another condition, the therapy might take a few weeks of regular exercises, but many patients see a big improvement in their symptoms and quality of life after completing the therapy.