Effectiveness of five vestibular rehabilitation sessions in women over 60 years of age with vestibular hypofunction

Abstract

Introduction: Vestibular symptoms are frequent reason for consultation in medical care, the elderly and especially the female gender is exposed to fall risk from this cause.

It is common for the treatment of this group of patients to be vestibular suppressors while vestibular rehabilitation therapy is indicated exceptionally, sometimes forgetting that the anatomic and functional elements involved in vestibular dysfunctions are the integration of the visual, vestibular, and somatosensory, pillars in those that are based on vestibular rehabilitation (VR). Aim: The objective of this study is to determine if five VR sessions are sufficient to provide concrete quantitative data on the decrease of disability and risk of falling in a group of patients with vestibular pathology. Material and method: This prospective study included 14 female patients over 61 years of age with diagnoses of peripheral vestibular pathology. Dizziness handicap in- ventory (DHI), timed up and go (TUG) and video head impulse test (vHIT) were perform- ed and after the intervention of five sessions of vestibular rehabilitation. Results: The three variables studied (DHI, TUG and vHIT) showed statistically signi- ficant improvements in the group of patients. Conclusions: The results obtained in this study allow us to suggest that VR therapy in elderly patients with peripheral vestibular pathology and without vestibular suppres- sor medication is an adequate, efficient and promising therapeutic modality.