VRT exercises are not difficult to learn but require consistency by the patient to achieve success. We often recommend the exercises be performed 2-3 times in a day, which can be tedious or difficult to incorporate into a busy schedule. We often suggest that our patients set up a regular schedule so that the exercises can easily be incorporated into daily life. The exercises may, at first, make symptoms seem worse. But with time and consistent work, symptoms should steadily decrease until they are completely relieved. I often use a weight lifting analogy: when you first start lifting a certain amount of weight, it is difficult and your muscles are sore after your workout. But, over time, the weights become easier to lift and your muscles hurt less over all. It is then that you are ready to progress to lifting heavier weights, or — in the case of VRT — performing more complex vestibular exercises.
What are the types of exercises I will learn in a vestibular rehabilitation program?
Vestibular rehabilitation exercises can typically be divided into three categories
- Habituation
- Gaze Stabilization
- Balance Training
Habituation Exercises
Habituation exercises are used to treat symptoms of dizziness that are produced because of head motion or visual stimuli. These patients typically report increased dizziness when they turn their heads quickly or with position changes like bending forwards to tie their shoes or looking upwards. Habituation exercises are also appropriate for patients who have difficulty in highly visually stimulating environments like grocery stores and busy gyms, as well as when looking at screens. The primary purpose of habituation exercise is to reduce symptoms through repeated exposure to specific movements or visual stimuli that provoke dizziness. These exercises are designed to provoke a mild level of symptoms to allow the central nervous system to habituate to the stimuli. The increase in symptoms should only be temporary and should return to baseline after 15-20 minutes. Over time and with excellent compliance to the program, the intensity of dizziness with these exercises should decrease as the brain learns to ignore the abnormal signals it is receiving from the inner ear system.
Gaze Stabilization Exercises
Gaze stabilization exercises are used to improve visual acuity during head movements. These exercises are recommended for patients who report that their visual world appears to wiggle or move when reading or when trying to identify objects in the environment. A very common exercise to promote gaze stability involves fixating on an object while the patient repeatedly moves their head back-and-forth or up-and-down for several minutes.
Balance Training Exercises
Balance training exercises are used to improve steadiness so patients can more successfully participate in activities of daily living, work and leisure or physical activities. After assessing several measures of your balance, your physiotherapist will provide you with exercises that are moderately challenging but safe enough so you do not fall while performing them. Ultimately, these balance exercises should help improve your ability to walk outside on uneven ground or navigate your environment in the dark. A comprehensive balance training program should help improve your ability to sit, stand, walk, turn, bend over, and reach while maintaining your balance. It is our goal to help you get back to as many of your desired activities as possible, including running or sports.
Your physiotherapist may recommend additional exercises outside of these three categories including neck stretching, dual tasking, cognitive exercises, postural training and/or education on ergonomics.
It is important to understand that no two exercise programs are exactly alike. Your exercise program should be developed by a physiotherapist who has identified your specific needs. If you have tried some exercises you found online and didn’t notice any change, the exercises may not have been appropriate for you specifically!
I think I may have BPPV? Should I try vestibular rehabilitation?
Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV) is a common cause of vertigo. It is important that you are appropriately assessed in order to be diagnosed with this condition. Your vestibular physiotherapist is trained to assess your inner ears with positional testing which puts your head in different positions to try and elicit the sensation of vertigo. Repositioning maneuvers are then used to treat the specific type of BPPV that has been identified. For more information on this, click on the link above.
After BPPV has been successfully treated with repositioning maneuvers, some individuals will continue to report more generalized dizziness or imbalance that persists over time. In these cases, the prescription of habituation exercise and/or balance training may be appropriate.
How long is a typical vestibular rehabilitation program?
We typically see patients 1-2 times per week for an average of 6-8 weeks, but this varies based on the patient’s diagnosis, severity of symptoms, and their response to therapy. The effectiveness of the exercise program depends not only on the exercises chosen by the physiotherapist but also on the patient’s adherence to the program. Some patients may be seen for only 2-3 sessions and others may need consistent treatment for several months.
What type of recovery or outcome can I expect from vestibular rehabilitation?
Expected vestibular rehabilitation outcomes include:
- Decreased dizziness symptoms
- Decreased nausea
- Improve focus or concentration
- Improved balance in standing or sitting
- Decreased risk of falling
- Improved ability to stabilize gaze
- Improved ability to track or focus on objects near and far
- Improved neck mobility, stiffness and/or pain
- Increased confidence to return to desired activities and hobbies
