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- Get Partial or Complete Relief Rrom Vertigo/Dizziness: Reduces Fear About Feeling Dizzy or Suffering From Vertigo imbalance.
- Helps Regain Balance: Improves Safety As Patient Improves / Regains Balance.
- Helps Reduce Dangerous Falls: Increases Stability During Movements Of Daily Activities.
- Decreases Nystagmus: The problems of Involuntary Eye Movements are often Decreased.
- Optimizes Visual-Vestibular Interaction: Function Better and Respond Better to Stimuli.
- Increased Confidence of Performing Activities.
Vestibular rehabilitation is done to help make the brain relearn to recognize and interpret signals from the vestibular system in sync with information received from vision and proprioception (sensory awareness of a body part, muscle and joint).
The vestibular system in the brain controls our posture, the ability to maintain balance and our movements as we walk or run. The vision, the auditory system (ears), the processors on our feet soles, our facial muscles are all important components of the vestibular system.
If the brain does not receive proper information from the vestibular system, we are not able to maintain proper posture or balance. As a result we become more dependent on vision and proprioception.
In order to compensate for this change, we develop exaggerated patterns like more hip sway for balancing, moving the entire body rather than just the head to look at something or looking down due to anxiety of tripping. These over-exerted set of activities can trigger headache, muscle stiffness, fatigue, neck ache and other body aches.
The objective of Vestibular Rehabilitation Therapy is to retrain the brain, by recognizing the signals from the vestibular system along with information received from proprioception and vision.
The research on 'Efficacy of Vestibular Rehabilitation Therapy in Reducing Falls' was done to assess the short-term effectiveness of vestibular rehabilitation therapy in reducing fall risk in an at-risk population. Vestibular rehabilitation therapy resulted in a statistically significant improvement in Berg balance test scores (pretherapy, 36.8, to posttherapy, 46.4). Referring diagnosis, age, and gender had no impact on outcome. It was concluded that Vestibular rehabilitation therapy significantly reduces the risk of falls in elderly at-risk patients with improvement measured at the termination of therapy. Vestibular rehabilitation therapy plays an important preventive role in reducing falls in at-risk elderly patients, with beneficial effects seen at termination of therapy.
The feeling of losing of our balance and unsteadiness can be very discouraging. In such a situation, we may feel disoriented, have unclear vision, lose control on walking steadily, have a feeling that the room is spinning, etc.
The other problems that are associated with it can be diarrhea, nausea, giddiness, weakness, anxiety, panic attack, etc. So a person suffering from such a problem will not be able to lead an independent life.
The only way we can get complete relief from this health issue is by undergoing vestibular rehabilitation.
The organ which controls the balance of the human body is present at the inner area of the ear which is very near to the auditory nerve. It is believed that most of the times the feeling of dizziness is caused due to this part of the ear. The person who suffers from such a problem may also experience inability to hear properly through one or both ears.
Tinnitus, a condition in which the person feels ‘ringing in the ears’ can also take place due to dizziness. The only therapy that has proved to be very successful in treating it is vestibular rehabilitation, which will not only help in knowing the underlying cause but also thoroughly examining the factors that cause dizziness and vertigo. Based on these findings, therapists devise a complete course of therapy to get rid of the problem.
What are the types of exercises done in vestibular rehabilitation?
As a part of vestibular rehabilitation, you may have to do the following set of exercises: ocular motor exercises, eye-head coordination exercises, postural exercises, vestibular-ocular reflex stimulation exercises, balance training exercises and gait training exercises.
What happens in vestibular rehabilitation?
First there is a thorough evaluation to find out the root cause of your problem. Behaviors like balance, posture, eye movement etc are observed. The doctors are in constant conversation with your family doctor or physician to note the reasonS for your health problem. After evaluation, the doctor in charge of vestibular rehabilitation outlines an individual customized plan for treatment that includes exercises to be performed at the clinic as well as home. Most of these exercises are related to eyes, body movements and head.
Under what conditions should I take the help of vestibular rehabilitation?
If you are suffering from vertigo, imbalance, dizziness, you should take the help of vestibular rehabilitation therapy. People who experience dizziness or imbalance after a neck injury, stroke patients, diabetics, people with history of inner ear problems or those who have suffered concussion or head injury and anyone recovering from acoustic neuroma should take the help of vestibular rehabilitation. Also elderly individuals who react slowly to stimulus are likely to develop balance problems and they may also suffer due to medicines that cause side effects to the inner ear.
What are the reasons for imbalance and inner ear vertigo?
The reasons could be many: viral or bacterial infections, trauma, swelling of a nerve, Meniere’s Disease (disease of the inner ear distinguished by episodes of dizziness), vascular ischemia etc.
Some of the activities and exercises used in vascular rehabilitation therapy may increase the symptoms initially. Do not worry about that too much, as the body and the brain are just trying to coordinate and figure out a way to adjust to the new pattern of movements.
With time and practice, you will be able enjoy good synchronization, balance and alertness due to well-coordination of the vision, proprioception and vestibular system.
Top Reasons To Consider The Vestibular Rehabilitation Program:
Get partial or complete relief from vertigo/dizziness: Reduce your fear about feeling dizzy or suffering from vertigo balance. The vestibular rehabilitation exercises and activities are geared to resolve the problem of vertigo and dizziness by retraining the brain to recognize signals from the vestibular system in coordination with the signals received from our eyes (vision) and proprioception. So when all the three signals are in synchronization, there is minimal to no confusion, dizziness or vertigo.
Balance regained: The safety of the patient is ensured as he regains balance. The patient regains the ability to walk confidently and freely and the fear of tripping or falling diminishes. The exercises taught in vestibular rehabilitation are conducive to maintain an equilibrium of balance, and walk or sit with a good posture
Decreases nystagmus: The problems of involuntary eye movements are decreased from the treatment given through vestibular rehabilitation. One of the symptoms of vestibular related problems, where the eye movements are involuntary; can result in lack of coordination. This problem can be greatly solved through vestibular rehabilitation.
Optimizes visual-vestibular interaction: As all the parts of the vestibular system like the auditory system, vision, feet soles and facial muscles are well exercised, the brain is able to pick up the signals easily in coordination with what is seen, heard or felt.
Confidence of performing any activity: With vestibular rehabilitation, you may find yourself fearing less about failing in certain tasks due to fear of dizziness or vertigo. The rehabilitation can help your body function normally, helping to eliminate inherent fears.
Vestibular rehabilitation therapy can be very helpful, mainly in the reduction of dizziness, vertigo and lack of coordination in terms of movement and vision. Book a free consultation to know more about vestibular rehabilitation at a clinic near you.
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