Patients with chronic balance problems and dizziness can experience a tremendous handicap in their everyday lives. Normal daily activities are often avoided for fear of bringing on an attack of their symptoms.

A successful treatment has been developing over the past ten years called Vestibular Rehabilitation. Vestibular Rehabilitation is a well tolerated, simple, cost effective, non-invasive alternative for treating many equilibrium disorders.

Prior to initiation of therapy, a thorough medical and diagnostic evaluation, including vestibular function tests, should be completed. Some patients will require treatment through conventional pharmaceuticals or other medical intervention.

Many chronically dizzy patients are appropriate for consideration for vestibular rehabilitation.

The human balance system is the coordinated effort of several systems:

The Vestibular System is the balance portion of the inner ear. This system tells the brain where the head is in space.

Visual, or the eyes, and the Somatosensory System (the body and sense of touch) gives the brain information about the movement and stability of the world around us.

Our Central Nervous System (the brain) then processes the information.

It is conflicting information provided by these systems that results in dizziness or balance problems. The appropriate coordination of all these systems provides us with normal equilibrium.

Vestibular rehabilitation therapy involves head, body and coordinated eye exercises as a treatment of vestibular disorders (dizziness or balance problems). The exercises are designed to help by using one or a combination of the following approaches:

The Adaptation Model includes exercises designed to allow the systems to adapt to conflicting signals and still maintain balance.

The Substitution Model includes exercises designed to utilize the remaining functional systems more efficiently to enhance balance.

The Positioning Maneuvers are specific single or repetitive maneuvers to manage a specific type of vestibular dysfunction.

There is a range of expected improvement of the specific diagnosis. The success of therapy is ultimately related to the underlying diagnosis.