Vestibular Balance Rehabilitation: What To Expect

Balance issues, frequent falls, and vertigo often have one symptom in common: dizziness. Although dizziness may seem completely benign, it can cause significant problems for anyone with an active job or lifestyle. 

To combat dizziness, rehabilitation therapists may use vestibular balance rehabilitation to help their patients correct the underlying causes of their dizziness. This gentle form of therapy is completely non-invasive and can change the lives of people suffering from any kind of dizziness. Here is what to expect when you go in for treatment.

A Pre-Treatment Exam

In order to give you the care you need, your therapist needs to determine the reason for your dizziness. To do so, he or she will start with a simple examination that covers your posture, gait, and mobility. Your therapist will also look for inner-ear problems that could cause positional vertigo.

With the information from this simple examination, your therapist will create a completely personalized plan for your treatment program. This plan will help you train away all of the underlying causes of your dizziness and give you ways to treat your dizziness at home.

Simple, Non-Invasive Exercises

Since your treatment plan will be entirely based on your symptoms and the most probable causes behind your dizziness or frequent falls, your rehabilitation sessions will be entirely unique. What you can expect, however, is that you will be guided through exercises that you can do at home or at work, as well as in the clinic. These exercises include but aren't limited to vision training, posture correction, balance training, and walking exercises.

For example, if your dizziness is caused by posture problems that reduce blood flow to important parts of your body, your therapist will teach you to correct your posture throughout your day. Eventually, you should settle into your new and improved posture without putting too much thought into it. If, on the other hand, your dizziness is caused by an unbalanced gait as you walk or run, your therapist will help you train your body to adopt a neutral or beneficial gait through walking exercises.

Over the course of a few weeks or months, you should see noticeable improvements in your day-to-day life as you perform your exercises during your rehabilitation sessions and otherwise, as directed by your therapist. If you need extra support at your workplace, your therapist may recommend ergonomic improvements that can help you keep your balance and stay focused without compromising your ability to work efficiently.