Have you ever experienced
- Dizziness?
- Episodes of spinning?
- Periods of light-headedness?
- Trouble focusing or reading?
- Loss of balance?
- Increased fatigue?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, you may have a vestibular problem.
What is Vestibular Rehabilitation?
Vestibular therapy/rehabilitation is a specialized physiotherapy treatment program that involves an appropriate exercise-based approach to retrain balance.
Initial assessment
Your therapist will evaluate you to determine
- Position or movements that cause dizziness.
- Balance deficits which may interfere with your ability to perform daily activities such as dressing, bathing, walking, driving or shopping.
- Visual function as it relates to eye-head co-ordination required for reading, driving or walking.
Your Vestibular Rehabilitation Therapy program includes
- Exercises to help you stop or reduce symptoms of dizziness.
- Advanced balance and gait retraining.
- Compensatory techniques you can use to decrease symptoms of dizziness and imbalance while performing daily activities.
- Specific vestibular exercises.
- Supervised therapy sessions to monitor progress and continually challenge the vestibular, visual and balance systems.
- Repositioning maneuver for B.P.P.V (Benign Paroxysmal positional Vertigo) which is a condition where crystals are caught in inner ear
Who will benefit from vestibular rehabilitation?
The vestibular rehabilitation program offers treatments for a wide variety of conditions that result in balance problems and dizziness. Some of these include:
- Labrynthitis: inflammation of the labyrinth.
- Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV): A condition where free floating calcium particles move into semicircular canals causing vertigo or spinning with changes in head position.
- Vestibular Hydrops or Meniere's Disease: A fluid imbalance in the inner ear and the symptoms may include ringing in the ear, fluctuating hearing loss, spinning, and loss of balance.
- Central Vertigo: A condition which can be caused by damage to the central nervous system from a stroke or head injury that affects the vestibular system. The symptoms may include dizziness or loss of balance.
How can I get Help?
No referral required. However, we recommend that, you be assessed by your physician prior to commencing a vestibular rehabilitation program, to determine the nature of your difficulties.
