How Vestibular Therapy can help with dizziness and imbalance
The goals of vestibular therapy may differ based on the underlying conditions causing your dizziness. Your therapist must first assess which portion of the inner ear is affected. A proper diagnosis is vital to the successful treatment of dizziness.
Vestibular rehabilitation may help you:
- Reduce dizziness
- Regain function
- Reposition inner ear debris (calcium crystals) in cases of BPPV
- Develop compensatory mechanisms in the brain through other senses such as vision
- Improve balance and reduce falls
Balance is made up of three systems: vision, the sense of touch, and the inner ear. Together they make our balance solid like a tripod, when we loose or weaken these systems our balance suffers. Vestibular rehab uses exercises and education to address the causes of dizziness and improve balance.
Treatments may include:
- Repositioning maneuvers for BPPV
- Habituation exercises that place you in positions that trigger dizziness, thus allowing your body to adjust and decrease the dizziness you experience
- Gaze stability training
- Balance retraining
- Sensory integration aims to strengthen those three systems we use for balance
- Exercise programs that address issues with weakness, decreased range of motion, etc.
Jessica Mclaughlin, DPT is certified in Vestibular Rehabilitation.
