Vestibular Rehabilitation
Vestibular rehabilitation is a program performed by a specialty-trained vestibular physical therapist in order to improve balance and reduce problems related to dizziness. Dizziness can be due to an inner ear pathology, a side effect of medications, a sign of neck pathology, or due to heart pathology.
Dizziness may occur while standing still, lying down, or completing physical activities. Symptoms can be constant or episodic in nature, may last for seconds, minutes or hours.
Dizziness can be described in many different ways:
- Feelings of unsteadiness
- Lightheadedness
- Spinning
- Floating
- Tilting
- Whirling
Who benefits from vestibular rehabilitation?
- Those diagnosed with dizziness
- Imbalance
- Vertigo
- Meniere’s Disease
- Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV)
- Neck-related dizziness
- Migraines
Symptoms that will be decreased/abolished with vestibular rehabilitation include:
- Dizziness
- Blurry vision
- Night tightness, stiffness, pain
- Imbalance
- Spinning
- Falls
- Foggy head
At your date of evaluation, your therapist will review your symptoms as well as medical history. They will evaluate your strength, gait, visual stability and mobility, neck mobility as well as postural testing, concluding with an inner ear exam. Based on examination findings, you and your therapist will develop a plan of care to best reach your goals and return you to your prior level of function.
