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Patient Education

2018-10-15
Balance and Vestibular Rehabilitation

Do you feel dizzy while standing still, changing positions, or lying down? Feeling out of balance can have many causes. It may be due to weakness caused by tiredness or illness. But it could also be because of an ear disorder. In this article, we’ll be focusing on rehabilitation of vestibular disorder, an inner ear disorder that makes a person feel dizzy.

What is a Vestibular Disorder?

The vestibular system of the body consists of the brain and the inner ear. The vestibular system helps in controlling body balance and eye movement. When the vestibular system gets damaged due to brain injury, old age, or stroke, people suffer from a vestibular disorder. The severity of vestibular disorder may vary from person to person. People who suffer from this disorder are often lazy, inattentive, or anxious and feel out of balance.

The Symptoms of the Vestibular Disorder Are:

- Vertigo and dizziness

- Imbalance and spatial disorientation

- Vision disturbance

- Hearing change

- Cognitive or psychological changes

- Migraines

What is Vestibular Rehabilitation?

Vestibular rehabilitation is an exercise-based program that aims to alleviate the problems caused by a vestibular disorder. This exercise-based program is designed by trained and experienced vestibular therapists to reduce dizziness and improve balance. As different patients have different concerns, a vestibular therapist designs a treatment plan of exercises based on a patient’s medical history and evaluating your present condition. The therapist will evaluate you to determine:

- Movements or positions that make you feel dizzy or out of balance

- Vision function to check the eye-head coordination while walking, reading or driving

What Does Vestibular Rehabilitation Include?

At Emerald Hill Physio, your vestibular rehabilitation program includes exercises to reduce or stop symptoms of dizziness. To help improve your balance, this program also includes advance balance and gait retraining. Apart from exercises, vestibular rehabilitation has compensation techniques to reduce dizziness and improve balance while performing your daily activities. The therapists at Emerald Hill take you through specialized sessions to monitor your progress and challenge your vestibular system. Along with exercises, techniques, and sessions, the program includes a repositioning maneuver for B.P.P.V.

Who Benefits from Vestibular Rehabilitation?

Vestibular rehabilitation provides treatment to a wide range of problems that causes balance problems and dizziness. Some of the problems are listed below:

- Labyrinthitis: It is an inner ear disorder. There are two nerves in your inner ear which sends information to your brain about navigation and balance control. When these nerves get inflamed, there is a case of labyrinthitis.

- Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo: It is a condition in which the patient experiences head spinning while changing the head’s position.

- Meniere’s disease: It is a condition where the there is a fluid imbalance in the inner ear that causes loss of balance, fluctuating hearing loss, and spinning.

- Central vertigo: It is a condition caused by damage to the central nervous system due to a stroke or a head injury.

Looking for a vestibular rehabilitation center in Sherwood Park, Alberta? Contact us at Emerald Hill Physio. Talk to us about your issues and our therapists will suggest or design a vestibular rehabilitation program to address your concerns.