Quality of life of individuals submitted to vestibular rehabilitation

Abstract

Bal ance disorders affect social, family and professional activities. Vestibular rehabilitation can reduce the impact of these disorders on the quality of life of individuals with vertigo. Aim: to study the influence of vestibular rehabilitation on the quality of life of individuals, correlating it with gender, age, results from computerized vectoelectronystagmography and vertigo. Study type: Retrospective. Materials and Methods: Twenty-two individuals were submitted to customized vestibular rehabilitation and the Brazilian Dizziness Handicap Inventory-DHI before and after vestibular rehabilitation. Results from this questionnaire were correlated with gender, age, vestibular assessment and the presence of vertigo. Results: all the DHI scores reduced significantly after vestibular rehabilitation. There were no differences among genders; adults and elderly patients; irritative peripheral vestibular syndromes; deficiency syndromes and normal exams; the presence or absence of vertigo. Conclusion: all the individuals had improvements in their quality of life after customized vestibular rehabilitation.

Influência da reabilitação vestibular na qualidade de vida de indivíduos labirintopatas

“…There was a statistically significant difference in the physical, functional, emotional, and overall scores between the pre-and posttreatment periods, which is supported by various studies 9,13,25 . According to the literature, the improvement in symptoms following PVR therapy is determined by neural adaptations, sensory substitutions, functional recovery of the vestibulo-ocular and vestibulospinal reflexes, improved overall body fitness, lifestyle changes, and the positive psychological effect of PVR on patients as they regain a sense of physical and psychological security 26 .…”

“…Currently, personalized vestibular rehabilitation (PVR) has been widely used in the treatment of vertiginous patients to attenuate dizziness and body unsteadiness. It has shown to be an important and effective strategy to treat patients with body balance disorders, enhancing competence and well-being of individuals in performing the activities of daily living and promoting a marked improvement in their QOL 5,6,9 . The repetitive exercises prescribed in vestibular rehabilitation therapy accelerate the physiological process of compensation by habituation, generating a conditioned compensatory response of the reticular neurons in order to maintain the activation of the cerebral cortex at a homeostatic level-a slowly-developing, active response to repeated exposure in a process similar to conditioning.…”

“…Body balance relies on the integrity of the vestibular system (labyrinth, vestibulocochlear nerve, nuclei, pathways, and inter-relations in the central nervous system), the somatosensory system (sensory receptors located at the tendons, muscles, and examination 7,9,[12][13][14] . However, the practice of vestibular rehabilitation and the evaluation of PVR programs have not yet become routine in many speech and hearing rehabilitation services.…”

Perfil audiológico de idosos submetidos à reabilitação vestibular

“…Body balance is maintained by the vestibular, visual, and proprioceptive systems. Older adults with hearing loss might exhibit greater difficulty in maintaining body balance due to the reduction in auditory feedback, in addition to reduction of the ability to locate sounds and of auditory discrimination 7,8 . Although in this study, only the group RESUMO Objetivo: caracterizar o perfil auditivo de idosos com tontura submetidos à Reabilitação Vestibular e comparar os resultados obtidos nas avaliações auditivas de idosos sem tontura.…”

“…The body balance is maintained by the vestibular, visual, and proprioceptive systems, and when those skills are affected, the response of those systems decreases, resulting in vertigo or dizziness 7,8 . The risk factors associated with dizziness include cardiovascular, cerebrovascular, neurological, sensory, and metabolic diseases 9 .…”