“Vertigo is the conflict between the fear of falling and the desire to fall.”
– Salman Rushdie
Vestibular Rehabilitation
Have you ever woken up and felt like your whole world is spinning? Have you had to lean against the wall to hold yourself up when walking? Well, you might be experiencing a dizziness or vestibular episode.
Dizziness is an umbrella term that is used to describe a variety of sensations. Those sensations include light-headedness, swaying, and feeling disoriented. Vertigo is a specific type of dizziness. It is described as an illusion of movement occurring in the environment. Clients would describe their vertigo symptoms as a sensation of self-spinning or the room is spinning. This sensation can be caused by crystals in the ear being misplaced, by chronic neck pain, or by the patient’s jaw. At our downtown Edmonton clinic, one of our physiotherapists will work with you to determine the root cause of your dizziness and can fix it!
Signs and symptoms of vestibular disorders include:
- Weird beating of the eyes
- Imbalance
- Difficulty reading
- Feeling of swaying
- Description of not feeling right
- Vertigo
Scenarios where a dizziness issue may occur:
- Motor vehicle accident
- Head trauma/concussion
- Dental work (TMJ)
- Being on a cruise
- Insidious – no cause
Vestibular Rehabilitation at a Glance?
Vestibular rehabilitation therapy (VRT) is a form of physical therapy that consists of specialized exercises designed for gaze and gait stabilization. Most vestibular therapy exercises involve head movement, an essential factor that helps stimulate and retrain the vestibular system. Vestibular rehabilitation therapy is proven to be very effective for most adults and children who suffer from disorders of the vestibular or central balance system.
What are my treatment options?
Address the root cause of your dizziness with vestibular rehabilitation! Edmonton clients who receive early screening and intervention from one of our vestibular therapy experts get back to doing what they love quickly.
At Integral, treatment for vestibular clients can include deep tissue work, IMS, acupuncture, the use of certain modalities and an intense home exercise program to help the client’s balance, gaze stability, and posture that all contribute to their vestibular problem.
Clients should attend each session without taking medications that reduce their dizziness. An Integral physiotherapist has to determine the cause of the problem and taking these meds can mask the symptoms and not give a true evaluation of the dizziness. Clients are warned that they will get dizzy during their treatment, however the physiotherapist will make sure their symptoms are gone before allowing the patient to leave the clinic.
