What is Vestibular Therapy?
For people with mild to intense balance issues, vestibular therapy offers a much-needed lifeline. Inner ear issues leave those suffering from them more than “dizzy.” They can interfere with the ability to make a living, to function in daily life, or even to move around without risk of injury. Not all inner ear disorders have an immediate cure. But vestibular therapy services provide a way to cope with the balance challenges your specific disorder may pose.
What Causes Balance Issues?
Many of the balance problems for which you might seek physical therapy stem from inner ear disorders. Not all vestibular disorders are the same — but they often respond well to similar therapies.
Among the types of balance problems related to the inner ear is vestibular neuritis, which causes inflammation in the inner ear. Falls and problems walking a real concern with vestibular neuritis, because the symptoms are so severe.
Ramsay Hunt syndrome is similar to shingles, and damages facial and inner ear nerves. Hearing loss and persistent dizziness can result.
A type of vertigo known as Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) happens when the crucial calcium crystals of the inner ear become dislodged. The resulting whirling sensation often happens upon waking, but if you try to get out of bed it can lead to a nasty fall.
There is a specific type of migraine associated with inner ear issues, known as a vestibular migraine. Along with an aching head, the main symptom is dizziness.
For people suffering from these and other inner ear disorders, the exact cause is less important than learning how to deal with balance loss is. To prevent falls and move steadily, the same types of physical therapy methods work with most inner ear disorders.
How Vestibular Therapy Works
A comprehensive vestibular therapy plan, such as that offered at STI, addresses both the primary and secondary issues associated with a vestibular disorder. In other words, you’ll certainly address your immediate balance problems. But you’ll also focus on recovering from the ways in which your body may have suffered while compensating off-kilter balance, as well as fall injuries.
Primary Therapy
According to the Vestibular Disorders Association (VeDA), vestibular therapy is effective for various types of inner ear disorders. In other words, you don’t have to find a highly-specific form of vestibular therapy if you suffer from vestibular migraines, for example, as opposed to vestibular neuritis.
Effective therapies include gaze stabilization exercises, in which the client focuses on a specific object, or strategically uses a gaze shifting technique. Both methods help orient people whose vision clouds during an episode.
Basic balance training teaches clients techniques such as keeping the best stance during various tasks, such as getting dressed. From there, they practice how to coordinate movements and focus vision in order to remain steady during the task.
Habituation exercises are designed for patients whose disorders are most aggravated when they make specific motions. The patients are safely taken through those same motions. In this way, they gradually build up a resistance to the resulting dizziness.
Secondary Therapy
People with inner ear disorders report reduced stamina when it comes to standing and walking while feeling unsteady. In compensating for an uneven gait, joints and muscles can additionally become strained or weakened. Vestibular therapy addresses these secondary problems by building strength, flexibility, and endurance.
Unsure how to tackle your inner ear disorder and its related balance problems? Contact STI for a no-cost assessment. We can explain how we can customize vestibular therapy for your particular condition and challenges.
