Effect of Vestibular Exercises Associated With Repositioning Maneuvers in Patients With Benign Paroxysmal Positional...

: In addition to positional vertigo, it is quite common for patients with benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) to present complaints associated with balance problems and a feeling of dizziness even after repositioning maneuvers.

It was to evaluate the additional effects of vestibular rehabilitation exercises as a therapeutic resource in the treatment of BPPV, to improve symptoms and reduce recurrence.

This was an experimental, prospective, randomized, controlled study.

Instituto Brasiliense de Otorrinolaringologia (IBORL) from August 2016 to September 2017.

Thirty-two individuals, both men and women, over 18 years of age with BPPV.

They were randomly assigned to two groups: the control group (n = 15) performing only the maneuver technique as treatment and the experimental group (n = 17) performing the maneuvers and vestibular rehabilitation exercises. Patients underwent treatment and responded to the dizziness handicap inventory (DHI) and visual analog scale (VAS) questionnaires for comparison between groups. Participants were followed up for 6 months to observe recurrence of symptoms.

To investigate the additional effects of vestibular exercises in the treatment of BPPV.

The experimental group had a lower level of dizziness in the posttreatment period (p < 0.05) and a lower incidence of recurrences (p = 0.038) than the control group.

Vestibular exercises performed after repositioning treatments for BPPV increased the overall efficacy of treatment by improving symptoms with a lower rate of recurrence.