The vestibular system is responsible for collectinginformation about our balance and it’s sitting in the inner ear right besidethe hearing organ.
We maintain balance with input from our eyes, inner ear(vestibular system), and muscle, skin, and joints (sensory/proprioceptivesystem).
Vestibular rehabilitation therapy is a specialized form ofexercise-based therapy designed to alleviate both primary and secondarysymptoms of vestibular disorders.
The primary issue includes- dizziness, loss of balance, andvision problems.
The secondary issue includes- nausea, fatigue, decreasedstrength, lack of endurance, and the problem with concentration.
Vestibular rehabilitation therapy gives the best results inBenign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV), Vestibular neuritis,Labyrinthitis, Vestibular hypofunction, Stroke, Brain Injury, and Cervicogenicdizziness, etc.
The ultimate goal of Vestibular rehabilitation therapy is tocorrect balance deficits and reduce or eliminate other symptoms (e.g.dizziness, nausea).
Physiotherapy management in vestibular rehabilitationincludes:
Stretching and strengthening exercises for appropriatemuscle balance.
Balance and Walking exercises.
Repositioning maneuvers for BPPV.
Gaze stabilization exercises. The goal of this exercise isfor your eyes to stay on one spot while your head is moving, for this take yourthumb in front of your with arm extended and you stare at your thumb and youturn your head back and forth and up and down, do it slowly then progressivelyincrease the speed.
Energy conservation technique.
The Physiotherapist will teach you some home exerciseprograms like:
Eye exercise- Keeping your head still, look up and down,look side to side. Hold a finger out at arm’s length, focus on your finger andbring it toward your nose then back out again.
Head exercise- Move your head up and down, then side to sidewith eyes open, repeat with eyes closed.
Sitting exercise- Hold an object in front of you, turn yourhead 45 degrees to left and right while keeping your eye focused on the object.Sit on edge of the bed flip your body to the left return to your sittingposition then flip your body to the right. Place an object on the floor infront of you, reach down to pick it up then return to an upright position bendforwards to pick up objects from the floor. Turn to the left to place theobject behind you, then turn to the right to pick up the object.
Standing exercise- Get up from sitting position turn 360degrees to left and sit down repeat with the right side. From standing bendforward to touch the floor and return to standing, while standing makes sudden90 degrees turns with eyes open then closed. Stand on one foot with eyes openthen closed, start hopping on left foot then right foot.
Lying down exercise- roll head then whole body from side toside.
Walking exercise- while walking look side toside, walk heel-toe forwards and backward with eyes open and closed. Signstepping walk.