Vestibular Therapy

Vestibular therapy is treatment aimed at reducing dizziness and restoring balance, and like every plan of care here, it starts with finding out exactly what's driving the problem before we decide how to treat it.

The vestibular system, centered in the inner ear, tells the brain where the head is in space and helps coordinate eye movement with head movement. When it's disrupted, whether from an inner ear condition, a head injury, or age-related decline, the result can be dizziness, vertigo, unsteadiness, or a sense that the environment is moving when it isn't.

Treatment starts with an evaluation of balance, eye movement, and gait to identify the specific pattern behind the symptoms. From there, therapy can include exercises that retrain the brain to compensate for a damaged inner ear signal, specific head and eye movements to reduce vertigo triggered by certain positions, and balance and gait training to rebuild confidence in movement that's become uncertain.

Some exercises can briefly increase dizziness before it improves, since the goal is to retrain the brain's response rather than avoid the trigger. We tell you what to expect before each exercise and progress the intensity based on how you respond. You'll leave with a home program to continue the retraining between visits.

Benign positional vertigo, dizziness following a concussion or head injury, chronic unsteadiness and fall risk, and balance decline that's limiting confidence in daily movement.

Vestibular therapy follows the same model as every plan of care here. Your evaluation identifies what's actually driving the dizziness or imbalance, and your plan is built and adjusted from there, with the same therapist carrying your case through discharge.