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Balance and Vestibular Intervention Research
The emphasis of our research has been on the recovery of function in the
treatment of patients with dizziness and balance impairments. Vestibular
dysfunction typically disrupts postural stability and gaze stability and underlies
patient complaints of vertigo, disequilibrium and oscillopsia. As
a result, individuals with vestibular loss experience an increased incidence
of falling. We recently completed a randomized controlled trial examining
the efficacy of vestibular rehabilitation in the recovery of patients with
vestibular loss. This study determined that vestibular exercises improve
visual acuity during head movement in patients with vestibular deficits. In
addition, we found that vestibular rehabilitation reduces fall risk with a
majority of the participants at low risk for falls following vestibular rehabilitation. Vestibular
rehabilitation was as effective at reducing fall risk in older patients
as younger patients.
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