Vestibular Rehabilitation is an exercise approach to the remediation of disequilibrium and dizziness symptoms association with peripheral  vestibular pathology.³   In layman terms, it is the approach to using exercise to improve and/or completely resolve problems involving dizziness and balance deficits.  The use of exercises at it’s effectiveness to treat patients with vestibular dysfunction has been well documented. ¹

Positional Exercises proposed by Brandt and Daroff in 1980 were among the first effective exercises. ²  The field has rapidly progressed since this time.

Treatment of the “dizzy” patient involves a comprehensive evaluation, looking at the following factors:

               1.Complete Subjective and Functional History

               2.Clinical Testing for Benign Paroxysmal Positioning Vertigo (BPPV) involving occulomotor                      examination.

               3.Motion Sensitivity: motion/position inducing  dizziness

               4.Positional Testing

               5.Balance

               6.Gait

               7.Coordination Testing

               8.Cervical ROM testing (inclinometry)

It is rare for individuals to have a deficit in only one area, with most patients having overlapping deficits that contribute to their problem.  For example, it is common for patients to have dizziness after trauma to the cervical spine.  The upper cervical spine has a high density of mechanoreceptors involved in head and eye coordination.  If motion is not regained, the upper cervical spine also can be a source of dizziness; this area is very often overlooked, when it may either be the primary or secondary cause of the symptoms.

Our staff has the dual training of orthopedic manual therapy including osteopathic approaches, combined with training of current scientifically validated vestibular rehabilitation. Our staff has studied with staff from Johns Hopkins University and Emory University, two leading institutions involving research for vestibular rehabilitation.