Originally published August 6 2005
Dizziness can be prevented with exercise, study says
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
A new study has shown that in chronic dizziness that usually occurs in people 60 or older can be prevented with exercise and therapy.
Dizziness is especially common among persons older than 60 years, and can result in significant disability, fear of falling, and loss of independence.
The underlying causes encountered most frequently in primary care offices are peripheral vestibular disorders and psychiatric factors; in older patients, multiple issues may be responsible.
Results of several reviews, however, show that medications do not have a well-established efficacy in the treatment of dizziness and call for further evaluation of the role of exercise-based treatment.
Vestibular rehabilitation regimens use eye, head, and body movement exercises to stimulate the vestibular system, resulting in central compensation.
Yardley and colleagues used a single- blinded, randomized controlled trial to evaluate the efficacy of vestibular rehabilitation offered in a primary care setting.
Patients with dizziness were recruited from 20 urban and rural general practices in southern England in 2001 and 2002 and were assigned randomly to vestibular rehabilitation or usual care for three months.
Patients assigned to rehabilitation had a 30- to 40-minute meeting with a trained nurse who explained vestibular exercises and took them through an explanatory treatment booklet.
Dizziness symptoms were evaluated using the Vertigo Symptom Scale Short Form, a balance performance monitor, and by participant self- reports.
At the three-month follow-up, the vestibular rehabilitation intervention group showed significantly greater improvement on all primary outcome measures compared with the usual care group.
The authors conclude that vestibular rehabilitation offered in a primary care setting with minimal follow-up support can reduce heterogeneous dizziness symptoms and resultant disability.
EDITOR'S NOTE: In an editorial1 in the same journal, Dieterich points out that physical therapy for balance control is a useful tool for managing dizziness and vertigo regardless of the cause.
She notes that the simple exercise used in the Yardley study-moving the head from one side to the other and lowering or raising the head with the eyes open or closed with increasing rapidity-can be highly useful in alleviating symptoms and fall anxiety.
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