Vestibular Physical Therapy

Even minor or fleeting feelings of dizziness or difficulty with balance can make it difficult to go about your daily activities and complete even simple tasks. Although these symptoms are usually not serious, they can be caused by disturbances in the inner ear (vestibular system) that can affect balance. When that system is disrupted, it can cause vertigo (room spinning), dizziness, unsteadiness, and visual disturbances.

Vestibular physical therapy, sometimes called vestibular rehabilitation, is a form of physical therapy that is used to treat vertigo, dizziness, motion sensitivity, imbalance, and neurological injuries. At Cooper Rehabilitation, our specially trained physical therapists treat individuals with vestibular symptoms, including post-concussion syndrome.

Vestibular therapy may help to reduce the following:

  • Dizziness, a range of sensations that can include feeling faint, woozy, weak, or unsteady.
  • Vertigo, a sensation that the room and surrounding objects are spinning around you.
  • Difficulty walking because of feeling off balance or a fear of falling.
  • Motion sensitivity, which can include feeling dizzy and/or nauseous in busy environments such as grocery stores or malls or while riding in a car (car sickness).
  • Frequent falls.

Why Choose Cooper for Vestibular Therapy?

As part of South Jersey’s leading academic health system, Cooper’s vestibular physical therapists have extensive experience and training in treating individuals with vestibular symptoms, such as vertigo, dizziness, and imbalance.

The physical therapists at Cooper treat a variety of disorders and conditions, including:

  • Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo
  • Concussion
  • Labyrinthitis
  • Meniere’s disease
  • Migraine
  • Vestibular neuronitis
  • Vestibular neuritis
  • Cervicogenic dizziness, which is caused by specific neck movements or positions
  • Persistent postural-perceptual dizziness

Therapy Services

After your initial evaluation, one of our therapists will create an individualized rehabilitation program designed to meet your unique needs.

Depending on your diagnosis and the severity of your symptoms, your personalized vestibular therapy services may include:

  • Balance retraining
  • Ocular motor exercises (eye exercises)
  • Canalith repositioning maneuvers (Epley), which involve positioning of the head to relocate inner ear crystals
  • Habituation exercises (gradual, repeated exposure to movements that cause symptoms)
  • Home exercises
  • Patient and family education
  • Exercises to improve posture
  • Strength and fitness exercises
  • Stretching
  • Walking exercises

Schedule an Appointment Today

To schedule an appointment call 800.8.COOPER (800.826.6737), or use our request an appointment form to schedule online.