Rehabilitation treatment for vertigo

Vestibular Habituation Training (VHT), an exercise treatment for vertigo, has become an accepted therapeutic approach. However, a good insight into the basic mechanisms as well as into the indications is required in order to treat it correctly. Only vertigo of the provoked type and produced by a stable peripheral vestibular dysfunctional state can be influenced. The basic mechanism of VHT is the stimulation of the development of adaptation by a repeatedly eliciting positional vertigo. In this way, exercises are selected individually and have to elicit vertigo. The procedure for selection of exercises is described. The results obtained by this treatment show a net favourable effect. It develops progressively, as might be expected from the assumed action of habituation. Typical vertigo is more easily influenced than atypical forms, and fewer cases with unilateral canal deficiency have a complete result.