Non-specific Exercise Therapy for Benign Paroxysmal Postural Vertigo

Abstract

We treated 1145 patients diagnosed as having benign paroxysmal postural vertigo at the Toho University Medical Center Sakura Hospital from August 2007 to July 2009 by the exercise therapy developed by us. The most advantageous characteristic of our method is that patients can perform the exercises themselves at their own pace in their homes, even if the affected side cannot be identified and/or the patients have any orthopedic cervical and/or spinal problems. In 80.7% and 91.7% of the patients in our case series, the vertigo was no longer present at one and three months, respectively. In addition, the vertigo disappeared within two weeks in the patients who were examined within one week of the start of the symptom. The longer the period between the onset of vertigo and the hospital visit, the longer the period needed for control of the symptom.