The vestibular system, located in the inner ear, works in concert with your vision and sensory system to give your brain an accurate sense of where your body is in space. When this system is disrupted — through inner ear dysfunction, head trauma, or other causes — the result is often vertigo (a spinning sensation), general dizziness, or a persistent sense of unsteadiness. These symptoms can be profoundly limiting, creating fear of movement and significantly increasing fall risk.

Vestibular physical therapy is a specialized form of rehabilitation with strong clinical evidence for many vestibular conditions. Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) — the most common vestibular disorder — can often be resolved in just one or two sessions using repositioning maneuvers such as the Epley maneuver. Other vestibular conditions are addressed with a progressive program of gaze stabilization exercises, balance training, and habituation exercises designed to retrain the brain’s processing of vestibular information. Our therapists at Ethos are trained to differentiate between vestibular conditions and identify the appropriate treatment pathway.