What is Vestibular Physiotherapy Rehabilitation?
How Does It Treat My Dizziness & Balance Issues?
Vestibular Therapy
Vestibular rehabilitation therapy encompasses a range of exercises aimed at assisting individuals in managing sensations of dizziness and difficulties with maintaining balance. This type of therapy can be beneficial for those experiencing vertigo or labyrinthitis.
About Vestibular Rehabilitation
Vestibular therapy focuses on engaging in exercises that aid in managing feelings of dizziness and difficulties with movement, which can make you feel unstable. Although this therapy requires some commitment, it can enhance your quality of life and well-being.
Who Should Consider This Treatment?
Sometimes feeling lightheaded can occur when you experience health issues affecting your balance. When you feel dizzy and struggle to maintain your equilibrium, it may lead to muscle fatigue, even cause a headache.
Vestibular rehabilitation therapy could be useful for folks dealing with things like:
- Vertigo (feeling like things are spinning).
- Ménière’s disease (affecting your ears and balance).
- Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV).
- Labyrinthitis (causing dizziness and imbalance).
- Vestibular neuritis (affecting a nerve related to balance).
- Migraine headaches (which can also make you feel dizzy).
- Stroke (a serious medical problem).
- Traumatic brain injury (when your head gets hurt).
- Being at risk of falling.
How Does This Type Of Therapy Work?
Dizziness and balance go hand in hand, like friends. Vestibular physio is a solution to manage dizziness, especially when you experience a sense of imbalance. To comprehend the workings of this therapy, it would be beneficial to gain insight into the reasons behind dizziness and how our bodies maintain stability.
Feeling Dizzy
Feeling dizzy occurs when something disrupts your ability to perceive your position in relation to your surroundings. It’s like your brain trying to comprehend how your body fits into the world around you.
You might experience a sensation of floating or feeling lightheaded when this harmony is disturbed. It’s also possible to feel unsteady, as if your sense of balance has taken a leave of absence.
Staying Balanced
Your nervous system, which acts as the pack’s leader, and your sensory system, which functions as the team responsible for perception work together as a team. This sensory team comprises of:
- The inner ear’s vestibular labyrinth has parts like the semicircular canals that notice when you turn your head and the otolith organs that feel gravity and movement.
- Your eyes: They send signals to your brain about where you are compared to everything else.
- Your skin, joints, and muscles tell your brain what’s happening when you move. For instance, if you lean back while standing, your foot and leg tissues feel pressure, and your brain realizes you’re leaning.
Your central nervous system processes all this information to maintain your balance. However, there are instances when factors disrupt this coordination causing your central nervous system to struggle in processing the information. That’s where vestibular rehabilitation therapy comes in. It helps restore these connections improving your dizziness and balance problems.
What to Expect Before Beginning Vestibular Rehabilitation Therapy
First off, your symptoms need a good look. You might need to see an audiologist for a “vestibular test battery.” Don’t worry, it’s just a bunch of tests to check how well the balance part of your inner ear is doing.
Then, a physical therapist (which is where we come in) will look at your balance (how you stay steady), your gait (how you walk), and how strong and flexible your arms and legs are. We will figure out how things are going in these important areas.
What Takes Place During The Consult
When you’re experiencing a lack of balance and dizziness, it can affect you. However, there’s no need to fret, as experienced and formally educated experts we will tailor your vestibular physio treatment plan. We will guide you through exercises that can be done at home whenever feasible.
Here are some of the exercises we might include:
- Eye Movement Control: This is about practicing how to move your eyes smoothly, which can help your balance.
- Balance Retraining: You’ll work on exercises that help you become steadier and more balanced.
- Stretching and Strengthening: These exercises help to make your muscles more flexible and stronger, which can be really helpful.
Remember, these exercises are designed to fit your needs and make you feel better.
How Much time will the Vestibular Therapy Take?
At Rosanna Physio, determining how much vestibular therapy you’ll need really depends on your situation. It’s all about why you’re feeling dizzy or having balance problems and how well you do with the therapy.
For most folks, will usually need several sessions across a number of weeks to get the desired outcome. But some might only need one or two sessions. Then, there are those who might need a few months of steady treatment, which could include doing exercises on your own. It’s all about finding what works best for you!
Advantages Of Vestibular Care
Research tells us that vestibular physiotherapy can do some great things for you:
- Less Falling Risk: It can help make you less likely to fall.
- Better Balance: Your balance can get better with this therapy.
- Less Dizziness: If you’re dealing with dizziness, this therapy can help reduce those symptoms.
- Stronger Vision Stabilisation: It can also improve your vision’s stability.
- More Strength: Your body can become stronger too.
So, this therapy has some cool benefits that can make you feel better and steadier!
Risk Factors During or After Your Consult
Don’t worry; vestibular rehabilitation therapy is safe and won’t cause physical problems. But so that you know, there’s a chance that the therapy might not totally fix your dizziness or balance problems. This could happen if you can’t do the exercises they give you on your own. Just keep that in mind!
Expectation After Treatment
Whether this happens for you depends on what’s going on with you. But usually, if you stick with your exercises, most folks find that their problems with dizziness and balance get a lot better.
When Should I Need Medical Attention?
No need to worry, vestibular rehabilitation therapy hardly ever causes problems. But if you’re doing the exercises at home, it’s good to reach out to your healthcare provider if you notice any of these things:
- If your hearing suddenly changes or goes up and down.
- If your ear is full or under pressure, it hurts or doesn’t feel good.
- If you have new or louder ringing in your ear.
- If any fluid comes out of your ears.
- If you feel any pain or discomfort in your neck and back while doing the exercises.
It’s always better to talk to your healthcare provider if these happen.
Feeling super dizzy and unsteady can be really confusing, even if those feelings don’t stick around. Dizziness and wobbliness can sometimes stick around and bother you a lot. That’s where vestibular rehabilitation therapy comes in.
It’s a therapy with exercises that help you regain balance and handle dizziness. If you’re worried about feeling dizzy or having trouble with balance, please reach out to us for an initial appointment.
They’ll check out your situation, and if needed, they can connect you with experts who can guide you through vestibular rehabilitation therapy.
Looking For Information On Vestibular Physio?
Reach Out For An Assessment If Vestibular Rehabilitation Sounds Right For You
You don’t have to put up with dizziness disorders any longer – the issue is more common than you think and very treatable. Our trained & experienced physio can help you regain your sense of balance & get back to doing the things you enjoy in life.
Vestibular Rehabilitation Frequently Asked Questions
Vertigo or dizziness, as well as other balance issues, are treated with the therapy. These sensations may also be accompanied by a headache or migraine. The patient can risk falls and injury if not addressed.
A programme that aims to compensate for vestibular system deficits via the central nervous system. It is an individually designed programme of assessment, treatments and exercises. You can read more about it here on the Cleveland Clinic website.
Vertigo is a common symptom of vestibular disorders in patients. Falling and impaired balance are possible additional symptoms. Your symptoms might have appeared all of a sudden, persisted throughout the day, and gotten worse with head movement. Or, your symptoms might come and go and only appear when you do particular things, such as tossing and turning in bed or tilting your head up or down.
The vast majority of vertigo problems can be successfully treated with vestibular rehabilitation therapy, according to recent scientific studies. Most people just need one consultation to experience significant, long-lasting changes in how they feel.
For all age groups, vestibular rehab has been shown to be successful and reduce risk of falls from loss of balance. It is a therapy that will work for patients who have both chronic and recent dizziness.
Along with reducing or eliminating your vertigo symptoms, the therapy will also significantly enhance your balance, coordination, all-around confidence, and independence and reduce the risk of falls and injury.
The majority of cases of the most prevalent types of vertigo dysfunction resolve between two to four treatments / appointment, according to recent scientific studies.
