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Casey Stuck
Dr. Thomas Glumac
PT 100
14 November 2014
Vestibular Physical Therapy Rehabilitation
Within our bodies is a system that allows us to maintain our orientation in space,
control our posture, and maintain balance.5 This system is the vestibular system. Often
times, complications occur with a person’s vestibular system, and types of physical
therapy exercises can be used as treatment.
Information in the vestibular system is used in order to control the eye muscles
so even when you tilt your head to the side your eyes remain in the same position. 2 It
also provides awareness on body position and acceleration. 2
Vestibular disorders can result from trauma to the head, infection, toxicity from
antibiotics, and pathologic changes that may arise after a stroke or multiple sclerosis
(MS). 5 Symptoms of vestibular problems may include dizziness, unsteadiness,
disequilibrium, tinnitus, vertigo (spinning sensation), and occasionally, hearing loss. 1, 3
Older patients are most often affected. 4
The goal of vestibular physical therapy rehabilitation is to decrease dizziness,
improve gaze stabilization, improve posture stability, and allow the patient to return to
participating in the functions of daily life and work. 3 Different exercises are performed in
order to help eliminate vestibular dysfunctions.
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On the occasion when a patient is first beginning treatment, he/she is prescribed
fairly simple exercises starting with repetitive rocking movements applied to the eyes
and head; however, exercises will later progress to trunk movements. 6, 1
During and after the exercises, patients may experience an increase in dizziness,
nausea, or imbalance from the exercise program.
6,1 Exercises
will gradually become
more difficult as the patient shows improvement by means of no longer becoming dizzy
(or experiencing other symptoms) with the prescribed exercises. In the event that a
patient is prescribed exercises that are too advanced with reference to his or her
condition, dizziness and symptoms can have the ability to become worse. 6 Special
equipment is not usually necessary to perform exercises. A majority of the time, eye
charts, high-density foam, balance boards, and targets attached to a wall are used. 6
Meniere’s disease is a dysfunction of the vestibular system. Symptoms include
hearing loss, tinnitus, and vertigo. 3 Severe Meniere’s disease has the ability to cause
symptoms of unsteadiness and disability. 3 With this disease, therapists will often have
patients perform general activities of an aerobic exercise program consisting of walking,
cycling, or swimming. 3
The vestibular system plays a very big part in our day-to-day life. In the event
that there is ever a dysfunction associated with it, you can experience a variety of
complications that are very inconvenient. Physical therapy rehabilitation is used in order
to treat symptoms associated with vestibular problems. If you are consistently
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experiencing symptoms described in this paper, you may choose to seek medical
attention from a physician and/or physical therapist.
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Works Cited
1. Dreeben-Irimia O. Physical Therapy Clinical Handbook for PTAs. Burlington, MA:
Jones & Bartlett Learning; 2013.
2. Widmaier EP, Raff H, Strang KT, Vander AJ. Vander's Human Physiology: The
Mechanisms of Body Function. New York: McGraw-Hill; 2011.
3. Gottshall K, Topp S, Hoffer M. Early Vestibular Physical Therapy Rehabilitation
for Meniere's Disease. Otolaryngologic Clinics Of North America [serial online].
October 2010;43(5):1113-1119. Available from: CINAHL, Ipswich, MA. Accessed
October 10, 2014.
4. Hansson E. Vestibular rehabilitation - for whom and how? A systematic review.
Advances In Physiotherapy [serial online]. September 2007; 9(3): 106-116.
Available from: CINAHL, Ipswich, MA. Accessed October 10, 2014.
5. Pagliarulo MA, Introduction to Physical Therapy. 4th Edition, Elsevier, 2012.
6. Whitney S, Sparto P. Principles of Vestibular Physical Therapy Rehabilitation.
Department of Physical Therapy and Otolaryngology. Available from: CINAHL,
Ipswich, MA. Accessed October 23, 2014.
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