The vestibular system is located in the inner ear. Its role is to detect the actions of the head in space and adjust the movement of the eyes and body accordingly.
A malfunction of this system disrupts the balance and can cause vertigo.
Do not take dizziness lightly, especially when they are sustained or frequent. Expert physical therapists in Valley Stream, NY, will be able to assess and treat these symptoms.
Vertigo is characterized by a sensation of rotatory motion: you have the impression of rotating on your body or that the room or objects turn around you. Vertigo is often accompanied by blurred vision and may cause nausea and vomiting. You can also notice a decrease in hearing or tinnitus.
Vertigo may be accompanied by impaired balance, dizziness, and visual disturbances.
The purpose of vestibular rehabilitation is to:
- identify the sensory systems involved.
- accelerate and maximize recovery.
- reduce the duration and severity of symptoms.
- increase the function of postural control, eye movement and integration of information to the brain.
- resume routine activities more quickly.
Physical therapists at State of the Art Physical Therapy in Valley Stream, NY, who have received specialized training in vestibular rehabilitation are the best professionals to treat this type of problem.
Diseases Treated with Vestibular Rehabilitation
Physical therapists at State of the Art Physical Therapy in Valley Stream, NY, cure different pathologies with vestibular rehabilitation:
- Vestibular neuritis,
- Labyrinthitis,
- Ménière’s disease,
- A vestibular migraine,
- Dizziness or vertigo following surgery of the ear or the brain,
- Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo,
- Problems of central origin such as the brain stem and cerebellar stroke, multiple sclerosis, benign tumors
- For any other problem of dizziness or blurred vision.
Techniques of Vestibular Rehabilitation
Following the assessment, physical therapists at State of the Art Physical Therapy in Valley Stream, NY, develop a treatment plan based on the elements that stimulate the appearance of dizziness.
The rehabilitation program consists of exercises of accommodation and dizziness desensitization, balance, and proprioception exercises, and coordination activities between the eyes and the head to re-educate the vestibulo-ocular reflex.
Rehabilitation through created virtual reality poses the subject in a virtual world (through virtual reality glasses) suggesting a moment of vertigo that causes the nervous system to correct itself.
Optokinetic stimulation is a technique of treatment where the patient is placed on a hard floor and in a dark room. Spinning light points are then switched on around the patient who will have to try to keep his balance.
The third technique of vestibular rehabilitation is the rotary chair. The revolving chair turns at high speed and then stop. The patient should look at a picture and say when it becomes stable.
The last method is the proprioceptive simulation, where a physical therapist in Valley Stream, NY, ask the patient to maintain his balance, standing on a mobile platform. The goal is to maintain balance as long as possible at each session.