An older woman enjoys a nature hike.

Vestibular physical therapy

Regain balance with vestibular physical therapy at TRIA

Dizziness, vertigo and imbalance can make everything from taking the stairs to walking around your backyard feel like a challenge. Being unsteady on your feet is not only uncomfortable, it makes it harder to move around. Falling, especially as we get older, can cause serious injury. If you’re struggling with your balance, vestibular physical therapy can help.

Vestibular physical therapy uses movement and exercise to improve your body’s function and manage dizziness. With TRIA vestibular physical therapy locations in Minnesota and western Wisconsin, convenient care is always close to you. Our physical therapists are experts at treating a wide range of vestibular disorders. We can help you improve your quality of life and move with confidence again.

What is vestibular physical therapy?

Vestibular physical therapy is a type of treatment for vestibular disorders that uses specialized exercises proven to reduce dizziness, imbalance and other symptoms caused by inner ear and balance disorders.

Multiple parts of the body work together to help your brain understand where you are in space, also known as spatial orientation. For example:

  • Your eyes tell your brain where you are in relation to other objects.
  • The nerves and tissues in your body send signals to your brain so it knows where you are in space.
  • The vestibular labyrinth, a part of your inner ear, reacts to the movement of your head and to gravity.

Injury, illness and vestibular disorders can impact your body’s spatial orientation, causing dizziness or imbalance. Vestibular physical therapy can improve the way your body functions and help you manage uncomfortable symptoms.

Who can benefit from vestibular physical therapy

Dizziness and feelings of imbalance can have a large impact on your daily life. If you’re struggling with balance issues, vestibular physical therapy may be a good fit for you. It can help improve symptoms related to dizziness for patients of all ages.

Our vestibular physical therapists specialize in treating dizziness and other balance issues caused by a range of vestibular disorders, movement disorders and other health conditions. At TRIA, we also offer a specialized Fall Prevention and Balance Program for people who are at risk of falling.

Types of conditions we treat with vestibular physical therapy

  • Balance disorders and fall risks
  • Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV)
  • Cerebellar disorders (ataxia)
  • Cervicogenic dizziness (CGD)
  • Concussion and post-concussion syndrome
  • Functional movement disorder
  • Labyrinthitis
  • Mal de Débarquement Syndrome (MdDS)
  • Ménière’s disease
  • Multiple sclerosis
  • Peripheral vestibular hypofunction
  • Persistent postural-perceptual dizziness (PPPD)
  • Progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP)
  • Superior canal dehiscence syndrome (SCDS)
  • Stroke
A physical therapist guides her patient through a balance exercise.

What to expect during a vestibular physical therapy appointment

During a vestibular physical therapy appointment, one of our therapists will evaluate your condition and determine how to best treat symptoms of dizziness, unsteadiness or imbalance. We’ll work with you to establish goals for your rehabilitation and create a treatment plan tailored to your unique needs. We may also create a home program so you can continue to manage your condition outside of vestibular physical therapy appointments.

In many cases, a physical therapist will guide you through specialized exercises designed to manage or improve symptoms of vestibular disorders. Vestibular physical therapy exercises typically fall into one of three categories: balance and gait training, gaze stabilization, and habituation exercises.

Balance and gait training

Balance and gait training improves your body’s function to lower your risk of falling. You’ll work on balancing and coordination exercises that target different parts of your body or help you do activities of daily living, such as taking the stairs.

There are a wide range of movements our vestibular physical therapists use to improve your balance and gait, including combining head movements with walking in a straight line, moving from sitting to standing, balancing on one foot, and movements that involve stooping or bending.

Gaze stabilization

Gaze stabilization helps strengthen your ability to focus on a still object while moving your head. These exercises help your eyes, head and neck work together to sense your position in space. In many cases, gaze stabilization exercises include focusing on targets at different distances while seated, standing or in motion.

Habituation

Our vestibular physical therapists will help you get used to movements that typically trigger dizziness, nausea and vertigo, including shaking your head or going from sitting to standing. This is called “habituation.” By helping your body get used to these types of movements, you’re less likely to experience dizziness.

Examples of habituation exercises include:

  • Quickly turning your head from side to side with your eyes open
  • Walking in circles and changing directions
  • Hand-eye coordination exercises while sitting, standing or walking

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)