Most of the time, Schrom can reassure patients that their symptoms aren't indicative of any serious problem and may improve over time. Increasingly, however, he is encouraging people to try physical therapy to improve the situation. Known as vestibular rehabilitation, physical therapy to treat inner-ear problems isn't particularly new. The technique has been around for some 50 years. Yet using exercise to address vestibular problems has only recently gained widespread acceptance, in part because of the success achieved by the military and NASA in treating dizzy pilots and astronauts.
Exercises can help in several ways.
One type of vertigo, for example, is caused when tiny crystals in the inner ear become loose and start floating free in the fluid-filled canals. By moving the head in certain ways, a physical therapist can help reposition the crystals so they no longer cause problems. For other types of vertigo, physical therapists can use exercises to help strengthen the vestibular system or help it compensate for problems. Colleen Page had never heard of vestibular rehabilitation until a niece, who is studying to become a physical therapist, mentioned it. Last September, Page began visiting a physical therapist who taught her how to focus on objects while moving her head.