Vestibular Disorders (Dizziness and Balance Problems)
Helping people manage dizziness and balance problems through personalised vestibular rehabilitation.
Vestibular Therapy
At Nicole Lavin Neurorehab, we provide specialist vestibular therapy for individuals experiencing dizziness, vertigo, or balance difficulties. The vestibular system, located in the inner ear, plays a key role in maintaining balance and spatial awareness. Some of the more common vestibular conditions we treat are:
- Dizziness
- Vertigo
- BPPV (Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo)
- PPPD (Persistent Postural-Perceptual
- Dizziness
- Vestibular Migraine
- Labyrinthitis
- Vestibular Neuronits
- Meniere’s Disease
Vestibular Disorders (Dizziness and Balance Problems)
People with vestibular disorders often experience vertigo, dizziness, visual disturbance, and/or imbalance. Secondary symptoms can include nausea, vomiting, reduced concentration, fatigue, and difficulty focusing.
These symptoms can significantly impact quality of life, with many individuals becoming less active to avoid provoking dizziness or instability.
Common symptoms may include:
Vestibular (inner ear) disorders are a common cause of these symptoms. One of the most frequently diagnosed conditions is Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV) which causes episodes of spinning sensations triggered by changes in head position. Migraines are also a common cause of dizziness and can be in the absence of a headache.
Balance problems may also arise from non-vestibular causes, including reduced strength, sensory changes, neurological conditions and fear of falling. In many cases, imbalance is multifactorial.
The good news is that many people respond extremely well to vestibular and balance rehabilitation, with a significant reduction or complete resolution of symptoms. Following treatment, individuals can often return to normal activities with improved confidence and wellbeing.
The overall goal of vestibular and balance physiotherapy is to restore safe, confident movement through customised, evidence-based rehabilitation.
How we can help
At Nicole Lavin Neuro Rehab, we provide specialist vestibular and balance physiotherapy using a problem-oriented, individualised approach.
Before any programme is designed, a comprehensive clinical assessment is carried out to identify the systems contributing to dizziness or imbalance. This allows treatment to be precisely targeted.
Our rehabilitation aims to:
- Improve gaze stability and visual focus.
- Reduce imbalance and falls risk.
- Improve walking confidence.
- Restore participation in normal daily activities.
Our services may include:
- Comprehensive vestibular assessment and positional testing.
- Individually designed exercise-based vestibular rehabilitation programmes.
- Gaze stabilisation exercises.
- Habituation exercises to reduce motion sensitivity.
- Balance retraining programmes.
- Falls prevention strategies.
- Targeted strengthening to address contributing weakness.
- Hands-on treatment where appropriate.
- Hydrotherapy to support graded balance and mobility retraining.
Treatment for BPPV
If BPPV is identified, a specific repositioning technique will be selected depending on the type of BPPV identified. The most commonly used treatment manoeuvre is called the Epley manoeuvre.
This treatment is successful in over 80 percent of BPPV cases and can often resolve symptoms quickly. BPPV can be accurately diagnosed and effectively treated by a trained vestibular physiotherapist.
Treatment for Non-Vestibular Balance Problems
For balance disorders not primarily caused by the inner ear, treatment remains largely exercise-based and tailored to the individual. Many people seek physiotherapy reporting a “lack of confidence” in their balance.
Research suggests that fear of falling is one of the strongest predictors of future falls. For this reason, early assessment and proactive rehabilitation are important.
To effectively reduce imbalance, trips, and falls, we:
- Identify which balance systems have reduced function.
- Target treatment to improve those systems.
- Teach practical strategies to compensate where needed.
The overall goal of vestibular and balance physiotherapy is to restore safe, confident movement through customised, evidence-based rehabilitation.
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