PROGRAMMATIC VESTIBULAR REHABILITATION

Although the use of vestibular exercises for patients with persistent vertigo and dysequilibrium has received some attention for many years, organized vestibular rehabilitation therapy programs have only recently been introduced. The benefits of such programs are becoming widely accepted. They typically involve a three-pronged approach: habituation exercises designed to facilitate central nervous system compensation by extinguishing pathologic responses to head motion, postural control exercises, and general conditioning activities. This article will describe the programmatic approach to vestibular rehabilitation, emphasizing selection criteria and reviewing results that may be anticipated when this treatment modality is used in a variety of patient populations.