St. Anthony's Memorial Hospital Services Rehabilitation Vestibular Rehabilitation

Vestibular Rehabilitation

Restoring Balance

Vestibular rehabilitation therapy (VRT) is an exercise-based program designed to promote central nervous system compensation for inner ear deficits. When the vestibular organs are damaged with disease or injury, the brain can no longer rely on them for accurate information about equilibrium and motion, often resulting in dizziness, vertigo, balance problems, and other symptoms.

If the vestibular compensation process is not successful, a person's ability to maintain posture and coordinate balance may become overly dependent on input from the eyes (vision) and muscles and joints (proprioception). Our skilled physical and occupational therapists develop an individualized treatment plan that includes specific head, body, and eye exercises to be performed both in the therapy setting and at home.

Conditions & Treatments

A patient in need of vestibular rehabilitation may experience dizziness or blurry vision with head movements, neck stiffness with avoidance of head movements. imbalance or the need to hold onto objects when walking, frequent falls and the experience of vertigo/spinning.

Diagnoses covered by this service include:

• Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV).

• Cervical (neck) related dizziness.

• Dizziness due to a stable inner ear condition (vestibular neuritis, labyrinthitis).

Physical therapy vestibular rehabilitation treatment options:

Canal repositioning maneuvers.
Exercises to improve balance and walking.
Vision stability exercises.