Tell me about Vestibular Therapy

[jbbrown15]

Well, the title says it all.  I have ongoing vertigo and unsteadiness.  I need to resolve the vertigo to feel like I'm back to my regular life.  Have you have therapy?  What was it like?  Did it help?

Thanks for any info!

Jean

[Syl]

Jean:

I had vestibular therapy post-op. I went for a few sessions before the therapist released me from her care. I was to continue the exercises on my own. Therapy did help me a great deal. I still have mild dizziness 3 yrs post-op, but find continued improvement.

Syl

[leapyrtwins]

Jean -

my neurotologist gave me vestibular exercises to do post op.  Actually he had me start doing them prior to my surgery because he said that way it would be easier for me to do them post op when my balance was worse.

I found they helped a lot.  So much so, that I was able to turn down his offer to refer me to a PT after my surgery.

I have the vestibular exercises in a Word document.  If you'd like me to send them to you, please PM me your email address.

I don't know if they'll help you at this point in your recovery - or if they would have helped more shortly after your surgery - but they certainly can't hurt.

Best,

Jan

[HeadCase2]

Hello Jean,
  I went for Physical Therapy with a Therapist versed in Vestibular Retraining.  It helped a lot.  See if your treatment team has a Vestibular Retraining therapist that they regularly work with, or someone in your area that they can recommend.
Regards,
  Rob

[staypoz]

When I had my surgery, there was no vestibular therapist near where I live, so I went to a skilled physical therapist who worked with me on my balance and it helped enormously.  Some of the exercises I was given while in the hospital required assistance from someone else, and this therapist was able to adapt them so that then-single me could do them safely.  I highly recommend having some post op vestibular therapy.

staypoz

[ombrerose4]

Hi Jean,
I had a great experience with vestibular therapy. I had a wonderful therapist who worked hard with me and I also did alot of practice at home. After a few weeks using a walker, then a cane, I was finally able to walk outside on my own. The exercises help you work through that "wonky" head feeling that you get while turning your head and doing everyday stuff. I did therapy for 3 months and now the only time I wobble alittle is when I am tired at the end of a long day See if you can find someone through your hospital and doctors. I believe it really helps!

[james e]

My therapy started by testing my ability to stand, sit, walk, eyes open, eyes closed, bend over and stand up, turn left and right, balance on one leg, etc. They needed a base line so  they could measure my improvement.

We started every day with a mild warm up on a stationary bike for abut 5 minutes. The first thing we did as an exercise was to have me walk about 50 feet with my eyes closed...just about impossible for me to do, but there was no hurry. Sometimes I would start falling, but I always caught myself. I ran into the walls...always going towards the left. I had to walk with eyes open, turning my head left and right, then go right back to eyes closed turning left and right.

I stood between to grab rails with an exercise ball under me with a board on top of the ball. Then I had to stand on top of the board, holding on to the grab rails, and I looked like a paint shaker. After abut 20 seconds, most of the shaking quit as my brain began to compensate. I had to sit on top of the ball, and lift one foot off the floor, then switch feet, turning my head left and right.

I had to count backwards or say the alphabet backwards and walk with my eyes closed. I had to walk backwards of sideways and do division. We played catch with a ball. Sometimes it was a direct throw or sometimes it was a bouncing throw. Sometimes it was to the left or the right. Sometimes we walked and played catch.

There was almost no improvement for about 3 weeks, but then the improvement began to show up. The therapist had made a projection of what she thought my progress should be at each testing period. I never measured up to it, but I knew I was doing better. After about 2 months, she said I probably would not improve anymore more, and it was time to call it quits.

It was about a year ago that I started PT. It was well worth it. I am still mildly wonky 24/7. We walk the dog late at night, and without good visual horizontal lines to view, I still stagger. In the day time it is not a problem. Driving is not a problem, but lane changing can cause problems if I turn my head instead of just using my mirrors.

PT helped me improve by balance, but more importantly I discovered all the little things that "rock my world". I know how important my eyes are. Without them I am lost. Just go and have some fun when you so it.

James