Forty percent of people over the age of 40 experience dizziness or balance problems at some point in their life. There are many causes for dizziness, but a large percentage is caused when there is a weakness or deficit within your vestibular system. The inner ear, or vestibule, along with your vision and sensation, are the 3 systems used to maintain balance. When one or more systems are impaired, the body experiences this mismatch of information as vertigo or a sense of imbalance. Vestibular rehabilitation uses physical and occupational therapy techniques to treat vertigo and balance disorders with success rates as high as 90 percent.
Who Can Benefit from Vestibular Rehabilitation?
Our Vestibular Rehabilitation services will benefit:
| • | Anyone who suffers from vertigo, dizziness or a sense of imbalance. |
| • | Anyone who has had a stroke, head injury or concussion, a history of inner ear problems or diabetes. |
| • | Anyone who experiences dizziness or balance problems after a neck injury. |
| • | Elderly individuals who are more likely to develop a balance problem due to decreased reaction times and movement speeds, medicines that damage the inner ear and other conditions that affect balance. |
| • | Anyone recovering from an acoustic neuroma. |
Available Treatments for Dizziness and Balance Disorders
Treatments for balance dysfunction vary and depend on the factors that cause it. The goals of balance retraining and vestibular rehabilitation are to decrease dizziness, improve balance function, improve visual motor control, increase general activity levels, and help your body compensate for inner ear disorders. Your therapists at Spaulding Framingham will design an exercise and movement program to promote optimal function and safe mobility.
Your treatment program at Spaulding Framingham may include any or all of the following:
| • | Epley maneuver - a quick and effective treatment for positional vertigo |
| • | Oculomotor exercises - to increase coordination between the eyes, brain and vestibular system |
| • | Balance retraining - to improve control of balance by teaching the brain to utilize all the systems affecting balance |
| • | Motion tolerance exercises - to retrain the brain to adapt to specific movements without dizziness. |