How Vestibular Rehabilitation Works

Vestibular rehabilitation is a unique skillset practiced by physical therapists that is intended to help patients with restoring, improving, or adjusting their sense of balance as well as dealing with recurring dizziness problems. Often times, the first symptom patients tend to notice is “vertigo” or the inappropriate feeling of the world moving around them.

Dizziness Defined

Dizziness can occur for a number of reasons and is not restricted to just one cause. Dizziness can be a symptom of poor or suddenly restricted cardiovascular health (i.e. blood and oxygen loss to the brain), inner ear problems, a side effect of medication, a concussion, clogged sinuses, and even whiplash injuries from car accidents. The typical signs of dizziness include lightheadedness, decreased balance and coordination, a sense of slow or fast spinning, feeling like one is moving when standing still, a sense of tilting or falling over, and an inability to stand or walk without assistance. These symptoms can be momentary or they can last for minutes or even hours at a time. Some of these symptoms can go away when one lays down, only to return when standing up while others are sporadic and come about randomly.

Due to the complexity of the interactions between the nervous system, brain, joint receptors, and vestibular system, a complex and thorough patient history and physical exam is crucial for a resolution of symptoms and to prevent symptoms from recurring.

While dizziness can affect patients of any age, seniors tend to experience these symptoms more often than younger individuals.

The Benefits of Vestibular Rehabilitation Care

For dizziness sufferers in the West Loop, vestibular rehabilitation addresses a wide variety of conditions that cause dizziness, as well as helps those who have suffered mobility issues for other reasons such as a stroke or fall injury. After an initial evaluation done by our physical therapist, a patient will then be tested for current balance and gait impairments, visual coordination, neck mobility, and positional testing that challenges the functioning of the vestibular system. With the findings from these tests, our physical therapist can then develop a specific treatment plan towards retraining a patient’s body to improve balance and resolve symptoms.

Local Treatment for Dizziness Is Available

At West Loop Spine & Stability, our goal is to help our patients restore their mobility. We help patients from all over the Chicagoland area, including the West Loop, Fulton Market, River West, West town, Ukrainian Village, Wicker Park, Bucktown, Rivernorth, South Loop, Streeterville, and Gold Coast areas. We focus on improving function with daily tasks as well as preventing fall injuries and balance problems.

Vestibular rehabilitation is oftentimes enough for many patients to trigger full recovery. In other cases, it helps augment rehabilitation for more serious conditions or post-surgical rehabilitation. Our team will develop a specific plan for you, depending on your medical record and evaluation, and focus on the best approaches with the highest success potential for your recovery. Give us a call or email to get started. Don’t just manage your dizziness, resolve it!