Dizziness, balance and rehabilitiation in vestibular disorders

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2011 issn 1652-4063 isbn 978-91-7668-797-0

Lena Kollén is registered physiotherapist with a master in medical science and a special qualification in the field of neurology and intensive care. Employed at the Department of Physiotherapy at the Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Göteborg since 1991 she has been working in the field of Neurology and since 1999 also part time in the Department of Otolaryngology/Audiology. She is since 2008 doctoral student at the School of Health Sciences, Örebro University. This thesis investigates two common vestibular disorders unilateral vestibular loss (AUVL) and benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV). The studies focus on vestibular rehabilitation and long term follow up.

Dizziness is a common symptom in all ages but especially in higher ages. The causes of dizziness can be manifold and include disturbances to the pe-ripheral vestibular function and central nervous system disorders. Dizziness reduces quality of life and activities of daily living. Careful examinations of the vestibular system including static and dynamic balance tests are necessary to address these problems. Since BPPV can be treated and also is a common cause of dizziness in the elderly persons and should always be examined. The Dix-Hallpike test can be difficult to perform the in elderly persons due to limited range of motion the side-lying test can be used instead. In order to provide good rehabilitation in patients with vestibular disorders, vestibular training is necessary. There is moderate to strong evidence that vestibular rehabilitation is effective for patients with peripheral vestibular disorders and that the rehabilitation should be intense and start very soon after disease onset.