Research and development directions in vestibular rehabilitation: a bibliometric analysis

Vestibular rehabilitation training (VRT) has become an indispensable part of treatment for dizziness disorders. VRT is an exercise method that can alleviate dizziness and improve gaze stability and postural control, mainly used for the treatment of patients with vestibular dysfunction.

To analyse the current status, hot spots and trends in research on vestibular rehabilitation, data were collected from the Web of Science Core Collection and Scopus databases, and selected publications related to dizziness vestibular rehabilitation from 2014 to 2024. Visual analysis tools were utilized to build knowledge maps of the research field, analyzing the distribution of publications, authors, institutions, journals, collaboration networks, co-occurrence, clustering, and burst detection of keywords.

A total of 907 publications were included in this study, with an upward trend in the number of annual publications. The United States led in publication quantity, with the University of Pittsburgh ranking first among institutions. Professor Susan L. Whitney (University of Pittsburgh) was the most productive researcher. Recent research hotspots concentrated on unilateral vestibular hypofunction, vestibular neuronitis, and postural balance, providing clinical evidence for targeted VRT intervention.

Research on VRT for dizziness is expanding progressively, with vestibular compensation and postural balance as core hotspots. The findings consolidate VRT's clinical application value in guiding personalized intervention for different vestibular disorders. Future research trends will focus on expanding VRT's application scope, formulating individualized protocols, and developing AI-aided targeted VRT, which will optimize clinical efficacy and promote the standardized development of this field.