Vestibular & Balance Rehabilitation
What Is the Vestibular System and Why Does It Matter?
But when it’s not working properly, life can feel off balance. A simple walk might feel like the floor is moving. Standing up quickly could make the world spin. Crowds, lights, or even turning your head might become overwhelming.
This system plays a vital role for everyone, athletes, children learning to walk, older adults, and anyone who wants to move confidently and comfortably through life.
Symptoms That Vestibular Therapy Can Help With
Vestibular issues are often misunderstood or misdiagnosed, leaving many people searching for answers. If you’ve been told it’s “just stress” or “all in your head,” or “you just have to live with it”, you’re not alone.
Vestibular rehabilitation can help with symptoms such as:
- Dizziness, Imbalance or lightheadedness
- Vertigo
- Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV)
- Vestibular neuritis
- Meniere’s disease
- Vestibular migraine (migraine associated vertigo)
- Persistent Postural-Perceptual Dizziness (PPPD)
- Age-related balance decline / fall risk in older adults
- Visual vertigo / Visually induced dizziness
- Post-surgical vestibular hypofunction
- Motion sensitivity,motion sickness or intolerance
- Dizziness and lightheadedness
What Is Vestibular Rehabilitation Therapy (VRT)?
VRT is a specialized therapy that uses targeted exercises to reduce dizziness, imbalance, and motion sensitivity by helping your brain adapt to vestibular dysfunction.
At KINETIKA, we customize each program based on your symptoms, diagnosis, and lifestyle. We treat both peripheral (e.g., BPPV, neuritis, Meniere’s, PPPD) and central (e.g., migraine, post-concussion) causes of dizziness.
You’ll work with a skilled physiotherapist who understands the complexity and the science behind balance disorders and how they affect your body and mind.
How Does Vestibular Therapy Work?
Vestibular therapy uses progressive, controlled movements and exercises to:
- Improve postural stability,balance and coordination
- Reduce dizziness, vertigo and motion sensitivity
- Retrain your brain to reduce motion triggers
- Help your eyes, inner ear, and muscles work together again
Depending on your symptoms, your treatment may include:
- Gaze and visual stabilization exercises
- Balance training on unstable surfaces
- Habituation movements
- Head, neck, and eye coordination drills
- Optokinetic stimulation
- Rotary chair rehabilitation
Manual therapy for associated cervicogenic dizziness and neck pain
Devices & Tools We Use in Our Vestibular Clinic
At KINETIKA, we combine advanced technology with expert clinical insight to deliver precise, personalized vestibular care, using objective data to track progress, enhance safety, and tailor therapy to your specific needs.
Depending on your condition, we may use:
Video Goggles – To observe eye movements during assessment and positional tests like the Dix-Hallpike, helping us detect conditions such as BPPV.
Foam Balance Pads and Force Platforms – To safely challenge your balance and monitor improvements objectively throughout the sessions.
Head Impulse Test – For assessing vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) integrity.
Laser Pointers and Targets – Used during gaze and coordination training.
Rotary Chair – For rotational retraining and treatment of vestibular conditions such as acute neuritis.
Skull Vibration test tool – Screens for unilateral vestibular dysfunction by triggering nystagmus with vibration.
Vestibular issues can be frustrating, frightening, and isolating—but they are also very treatable. You don’t have to live with vertigo, dizziness, the fear of falling, or disorientation.
Let our expert team at KINETIKA guide you through a targeted rehabilitation program built around you—your symptoms, your body, and your life.
What to Expect on Your First Visit
Your first session is all about understanding your story. We’ll listen carefully to your symptoms, and how they’re affecting your life. Then, we’ll conduct a detailed assessment that may include:
- Functional and postural testing
- Balance assessment
- Gaze screening assessment
- Computerized tests of the vestibular system
- Explanation of the treatment plan and discussion of recovery expectations and treatment goals
This helps us identify the root cause and tailor a plan that works for you. Most patients begin feeling more confident and in control after just a few sessions.
How to Prepare for Your Session
- Wear comfortable clothing and flat shoes (preferably sneakers): You may need to move, turn, or lie on different surfaces during your exam and exercises.
- Bring any previous test results or medical reports related to your dizziness, balance, or hearing issues including the physician’s referral form if you have one.Make a list of symptoms you’ve experienced (e.g., dizziness, imbalance, nausea, ear fullness) and any triggers you’ve noticed.
- Avoid caffeine, alcohol or heavy meals beforehand, as they can affect your symptoms or balance.
- Bring your questions: This is a collaborative process, and we want you to feel informed and empowered.
- Arrive 10 minutes earlier from the time of your appointment to settle in and complete necessary forms.
Try to get a good night’s sleep the day before your session—fatigue can influence results.
At-Home Vestibular Exercises
While your therapy will be guided in the clinic, home exercises are an essential part of your recovery. Your physical therapist may recommend:
- Gaze stabilization drills: like focusing on a target while turning your head
- Balance training: standing on one foot or walking heel-to-toe
- Motion desensitization: gentle head and eye movements to reduce symptoms
- Breathwork and grounding: to calm anxiety and regain a sense of stability
- Lifestyle modifications: guidance on sleep, hydration, diet, screen use, and stress management to support your vestibular system and overall well-being.
Important: Vestibular exercises should always be prescribed by a qualified professional. Please do not attempt any exercises without proper assessment and guidance from your therapist, as they are tailored specifically to your condition.
Interesting Facts About the Vestibular System
- Your vestibular system communicates constantly with your eyes, muscles, and joints to keep you upright and balanced.
- Motion sickness is often a mismatch between what your eyes see and what your vestibular system feels.
- Up to 35% of adults over 40 will experience a vestibular disorder at some point in their lives.
- The vestibular system plays a major role in spatial awareness, concentration, and even emotional regulation.
- It’s your hidden sixth sense: the vestibular system gives you a sense of balance and spatial orientation, separate from sight, sound, touch, taste, or smell.
- It works 24/7—without you noticing: your vestibular system is constantly working to keep you upright and balanced—even while you’re sleeping!
- It lives in your inner ear: tiny organs inside your inner ear—the semicircular canals and otolith organs—detect motion and head position changes.
- It controls your eyes: and that’s because of the vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR), your eyes stay stable even when your head moves—crucial for clear vision while walking or running.
- It’s closely tied to anxiety: vestibular dysfunction can trigger panic, anxiety, and even depersonalization, as the brain struggles to process disorienting signals.
- Your vestibular system can make you feel motion when you’re still: some vestibular conditions can cause sensations of spinning or rocking—even when sitting still.
- Your balance depends on teamwork: the vestibular system works with your vision and proprioception (body awareness) to maintain balance—if one system is off, the others compensate.
- Your vestibular system can adapt and rewire: with vestibular rehab, your brain can retrain and compensate for dysfunction—a powerful example of neuroplasticity.
- Crystals in your ear help you sense gravity: the otoconia (tiny calcium crystals) inside your ear help detect linear movement and gravity. If they get dislodged (like in BPPV), they can cause vertigo.
- BPPV (Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo) is the most common vestibular disorder, caused by crystals moving in the inner ear canals.
Ready to Regain Your Balance?
Book your assessment today and take the first step toward feeling better in your body.
Frequently asked questions
No. People of all ages can experience vestibular dysfunction due to infections, BPPV, injuries, stress, or migraines.
Yes. Research supports vestibular rehab as one of the most effective treatments for managing vertigo, dizziness, and balance issues.
It depends on your condition. Some clients improve in one or few sessions (e.g., BPPV), while others benefit from ongoing therapy over weeks or months.
Mild symptom flare-ups can happen in early sessions—it’s part of your brain adjusting and compensating. But we guide you through it safely and with care.
