Dizziness Treatment
Vestibular Rehabilitation
Related terms · Vestibular rehabilitation exercises
Vestibular rehabilitation is a treatment that helps the sense of balance readapt through exercises moving the eyes, head, and body. It is particularly important when expanding the 'movement ladder' for activities that are actually hindered, such as bed rotation, head turning, walking, screen use, visiting marts, or riding vehicles.
Overview
Vestibular Rehabilitation: Please review these three points first
- Vestibular rehabilitation is not a single set of fixed movements, but a rehabilitative treatment that adjusts eye, head, and body movements and balance tasks according to your current condition.
- It differs in purpose from the Canalith repositioning procedurecanalith repositioning procedure, and can be considered for remaining walking instability, gaze instability, or avoidance of movement after the sensation of spinning has decreased.
- Discomfort may briefly increase after exercise, but if there is worsening to the point of falling, or if new hearing loss, double vision, or paralysis occurs, do not push through and seek a re-evaluation.
Meaning and Distinctions
What is vestibular rehabilitation?
It is an exercise therapy that gradually expands the range of bed rotation, head turning, walking, screen use, and outings to reduce discomfort when moving the head, the feeling of difficulty fixing one's gaze, and walking instability. This sequence also serves as the standard when determining whether a re-evaluation of the repositioning procedure is needed first, or if training to expand the recovery ladder should come first. Vestibular rehabilitation is a treatment that helps the sense of balance readapt through practice in moving the eyes, head, and body. It is especially important when expanding the 'movement ladder' that is actually blocked, such as bed rotation, head turning, walking, screens, marts, or vehicles.
- Easily confused terms
- While the canalith repositioning procedure corrects the position of the otoconia (ear stones), vestibular rehabilitation helps recovery from movement and visual stimuli.
- Why this is checked during medical evaluation
- If the spinning sensation has decreased after the repositioning procedure but you still feel unstable while using screens, visiting the mart, riding in a vehicle, or walking, we check which stage of movement is blocked to see if vestibular rehabilitation is necessary. Conversely, if the same short spinning sensation as before becomes clear again during bed rotation or head turning, a re-evaluation should be prioritized.
- What to note down for your visit
- Please record the date and how far you can progress among rolling over in bed, turning your head, walking inside the house, looking at a screen, and moving in marts or vehicles, as well as how long it took to recover, and show this during your medical evaluation. If you also record whether you experience brain fog, neck tension, or delayed return to work the following day even if you endured the activity on the same day, we can set recovery goals more accurately.
More Details
Connecting Vestibular Rehabilitation to My Symptoms
Exercise stages are determined based on the most difficult scenarios
Please list the specific scenarios you actually avoid, such as rolling over in bed, walking while turning your head, looking at mart shelves, or using stairs. Recording how much the dizziness increases after one movement and how many minutes it takes to return to the original level helps in adjusting the intensity and number of repetitions of the rehabilitation.
The same exercises are not applied to all types of dizziness
Vestibular rehabilitation must be personalized based on the cause of the balance problem, test results, and fall risk. If you have acute spinning sensations, new changes in hearing, severe headaches, or neurological symptoms, prioritize a cause evaluation rather than following exercises found on the internet.
Korean medicine treatments address the discomfort that makes it difficult to continue vestibular rehabilitation
When planning Korean medicine treatment, we examine what hinders rehabilitation the most among the time it takes for dizziness to subside after moving the head, nausea, appetite, neck tension, sleep, and fatigue recovery. Depending on overlapping patterns such as phlegm-fluid (dam-eum), deficiency of qi and blood, or hypertonicity, we prioritize acupuncture and herbal medicine and combine them with vestibular rehabilitation. After treatment, we check the time spent performing the designated exercise stages, the recovery time after exercise, and the range of daily activities to adjust the next plan.
Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions about Vestibular Rehabilitation
Does feeling dizzy during exercise mean it is working?
Some discomfort may be induced, but more severe is not necessarily better. The intensity is adjusted with a therapist or medical staff based on the duration, degree of recovery, and fall risk.
Are BPPV exercises and vestibular rehabilitation the same?
They are not the same. The canalith repositioning procedure is a specific treatment to correct the position of the otoconia, whereas vestibular rehabilitation is a gradual training for gaze stability, balance, and movement adaptation.
Dizziness, Ear, Head, and Face Glossary
Compare similar terms here
You can check simple definitions before proceeding to detailed explanations.Read More
Check guides where this term is used
- Condition GuideDizzinessVertigo manifests as a feeling that you or your surroundings are spinning, or a feeling that your body is tilting or about to fall. It may be accompanied by staggering, nausea, vomiting, blurred vision, and a loss of sense of direction. Note whether it occurs briefly and repeatedly when changing head posture, whether it continues even while still, or if it is accompanied by a feeling of fullness in one ear, tinnitus, or hearing loss. If sudden slurred speech, weakness in the face, arms, or legs, double vision, severe headache, or inability to walk occurs, do not wait for a vestibular evaluation and seek emergency evaluation immediately.→
- Medical Evaluation GuideIf you still feel floating or unsteady after a canalith repositioning procedureAfter a canalith repositioning procedure, the sensation of spinning may decrease, but a feeling of floating or instability may remain. First, check if you experience brief spinning again when changing positions. If not, note where you are still struggling, such as rotating in bed, turning your head, walking, looking at screens, visiting supermarkets, or being in a vehicle, and discuss the scope of re-evaluation, vestibular rehabilitation, and Korean medicine treatment. The next steps will differ depending on whether the spinning recurs when rotating in bed or if it only remains under complex stimulation like screens, supermarkets, or vehicles.→
- Head, Ear, and Face ColumnIf a floating or staggering sensation remains even after a canalith repositioning procedure→
Evidence and Update Information
The following materials were referenced to verify the basis and scope of the definitions and treatment descriptions.
- NIDCD: Ménière’s DiseaseConnection between episodic dizziness and hearing loss, tinnitus, and ear fullness
- National Korean Medicine Clinical Information Portal: Korean Medicine Clinical Practice Guideline for VertigoThis refers to the classification of dizziness patterns and the scope in which acupuncture and herbal medicine can be combined with existing treatments.