Vestibular Rehabilitation Therapy

What Is Vestibular Rehabilitation Therapy?

Vestibular Rehabilitation Therapy (VRT) is a specific exercise based program that is designed and developed by a professional Physical Therapist to maximize the natural bodily capacities to compensate for the balance disorders and as well to lessen the dizziness related problems. Through Vestibular Rehabilitation Therapy physical therapists treat variety of symptoms related to vestibular disorders viz.

  • Dizziness
  • Vertigo
  • Imbalance
  • Nausea
  • Anxiety
  • Fatigue
  • Trouble concentrating
  • Blurred Vision
  • Muscle or Neck Stiffness or pain
  • Headaches

Which are the tests conducted under Vestibular Rehabilitation Therapy?

Before designing an efficient Vestibular Rehabilitation Therapy plan for a patient, following tests are conducted to recognize his symptoms and to identify problem areas:

  • Examination of patient’s medical history
  • Identifying and measuring balance, gait and posture
  • Eye- head Co-ordination tests
  • Questions are asked in form of Questionnaire to measure the severity of symptoms

What type of exercises is prescribed under Vestibular Rehabilitation Therapy?

The brain of a patient suffering from vestibular disorders can not depend upon the information it receives from vestibular system. As a result of this, his ability to maintain balance gets affected and the symptoms start getting worse and heightened, day by day. To overcome such conditions, vestibular exercises including the following are practiced under Vestibular Rehabilitation Therapy to improvise gait and gaze stability of a patient:

  • VOR Stimulation Exercises: This include the exercises which help to stabilize gaze and visual focus as well.During the course, the patient is asked to fix his vision on a set target while moving his or her head.
  • Ocular Motor Exercises:  This include a course of exercises, where the patient traces the field with the movement of his eyes only, i.e. without stirring his or her head.
  • Balance Retraining Exercises: This incorporates the set of exercises, which aid to better the co-ordination of muscular responses and structuring of sensory information as well, which in turn results in improved balance control.
  • Canal Re-positioning Maneuvers: These are administered to dislocate the debris with in the affected canal. This debris consists of small crystals of calcium carbonate that get collected with in the canal of inner ear.
  • Aquatic Physiotherapy: It is beneficial for the patients suffering from the problem of chronic dizziness. During the course, all of the exercises are administered in a pool.

 If the patients suffering from vestibular disorders perform their exercises correctly and regularly, in most of the cases the balance problems are improvised ad more over symptoms like muscle tension, dizziness, vertigo, headaches, fatigue begin to diminish or disappear completely with time.

Alliance Physical Therapy offers a wide range of support services to the patients. Our trained and qualified physical therapists provide reliable and customized treatment plans as per requirement and condition of the patients and help them to rehabilitate as soon as possible.

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