You can significantly improve, even completely eliminate, your vertigo using simple vertigo exercises.
That’s according to a new study published in the Journal of Population Therapeutics and Clinical Pharmacology.
This study investigated the power of vestibular rehabilitation, a specific type of exercise program designed to retrain your inner ear balance system.
The researchers recruited 32 patients from medical, 21 females and 11 males, all of whom had been hospitalized due to chronic vertigo. They were all between ages 40 and 60 years.
The participants were divided into two distinct groups to compare the effects of different rehabilitation strategies.
Group 1 was introduced to a specialized form of therapy known as individualized group vestibular rehabilitation. This treatment was administered in an outpatient setting, where participants attended almost weekly sessions for one and a half hours under the watchful eye of a physiotherapist.
Meanwhile, Group 2 was assigned a set of basic balancing exercises to be performed at home, twice a week, for about 15 minutes per session.
After six weeks of diligent adherence to their respective programs, the outcomes were noteworthy.
-
1. Group 1 showed a significant improvement in their Dynamic Gait Index results, meaning that they found it easier to walk.
2. Group 1 reported a reduction in dizziness and improved quality of life.
3. Functional testing revealed an improvement in the postural balance of participants in group 1, indicating a positive shift in their ability to maintain stability.
4. Group 2, with the home-based balance exercises, also saw some improvement, but it was not as significant as the supervised group.
Therefore, the customized, supervised outpatient rehabilitation program far exceeded the outcomes of the home-based, basic balance exercises.
This should perhaps not be surprising. Balance exercises are very basic, including tests like standing on one leg and walking heel-to-toe.
Vestibular rehabilitation, on the other hand, is designed specifically to retrain your brain and inner ear to work together effectively again.
It includes head movements that train your brain to read the altered signals correctly. Gaze stabilization is also useful, which is an exercise to train your eyes to track moving objects smoothly, reducing dizziness triggered by visual conflicts.