

Main Clinic: Heritage Courtyard • 54 Oakway Center • Eugene, OR 97401 • 541-687-7005 Two Locations to Serve You:
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Downtown Satellite:1410 Oak Street, Suite 100 • Eugene, OR 97401 • 541-345-2064
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:
- Complete Subjective and Functional History
- Clinical Testing for Benign Paroxysmal Positioning Vertigo (BPPV)
involving occulomotor examination.
- Motion Sensitivity: motion/position inducing dizziness
- Positional Testing
- Balance
- Gait
- Coordination Testing
- 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.
REFERENCES
- Buttner U. Vestibular Dysfunction and it s therapy. Karger. New York. 1999 169-174
- Herdman SJ. Vestibular Rehabilitation 2nd ed. F.A. Davis. Philadelphia. 2000 387-424
- Shumway-Cook, A. Vestibular Rehabilitation. Vestibular Disorders Association, Portland.
Chapter F-7. 1/2001
EUGENE PT CASE STUDIES
CASE #1
CASE #2
For further information these websites may be helpful resources:
VESTIBULAR DISORDERS ASSOCIATION (VEDA)
ACOUSTIC NEUROMA ASSOCIATION
AMERICAN ACADEMY OF OTOLARYNOGOLY - HEAD & NECK SURGERY
AMERICAN NEUROTOLOGY SOCIETY
AMERICAN PHYSICAL THERAPY ASSOCIATION - NEUROGLOGY SECTION
ASSOCIATION FOR RESEARCH IN OTOLARYNGOLOGY
NIDCD - HEARING & BALANCE PATHOLOGY RESOURCE CENTER