Vestibular Exercises

February 11, 2021 | App Users, Exercises, Physical Therapy, Physical Therapy Professionals

After our blog The Basics of Vestibular Care by Dr. Madison Oak, DPT, we have added new vestibular exercises into our exercise library for physical therapists to prescribe to patients in PT-Connect and also available in PT-Helper Pro for patients whose therapists have assigned them exercises but do not use PT-Connect. Exercise parameters can be modified for each individual from reps, sets, and hold times. PT-Helper includes timers and counters to help patients complete their exercises.

A small sample of our vestibular home exercises are shown below:

Reminder: Please consult your physician or health professional before engaging in any physical activity and stop if you experience pain or discomfort. You should never try this at home without first consulting a Vestibular PT.

  • Standing Static Balance: Feet Touching, Firm Surface, Eyes Open: Stand on a firm surface with your feet shoulder-width apart. Bring your feet together while keeping your eyes open. Stand and balance for the duration of the Hold time. Relax and spread your feet apart. Repeat.

  • Standing Static Balance: Feet Touching, Firm Surface, Eyes Closed: Stand on a firm surface with your feet shoulder-width apart. Bring your feet together while closing your eyes. Stand and balance for the duration of the Hold time. Relax, spread your feet apart and open your eyes. Repeat.

  • Vestibular Ocular Reflex (VOR x1): Place a target on your wall, such as a small post-it note or tape an X on your wall. Stand 4 feet from the wall and focus on the target. While keeping your eyes on the target, shake your head right and left quickly, in a small range of motion (as if you’re shaking “no”), while keeping the target still & in focus the entire time — If the target jumps or becomes blurry, slow down. Repeat.

  • Vestibular Ocular Reflex Cancellation (VOR cX): Stand up with your feet hip width apart and clasp your hands together with your thumbs up. Bring your hands up to eye level (about 90° of shoulder flexion). Focus intently on your thumbs and then begin to rotate your torso right and left, 60° in each direction, while maintaining focus on your thumbs throughout.

  • Epley Maneuver (Right Side): Sit in the middle of a bed with a pillow behind you located close to your lower back so that when you lie down your head will clear the pillow and be past the edge of the pillow. Turn your head 45 degrees to the right. Keeping your head turned, lie back on the bed so that your head is past the pillow. Keep your head turned at 45 degrees, your chin up and Hold. Then keeping the back of your head on the bed and your chin up, roll your head about 90 degrees to the opposite side so that you are now looking to your left. Hold. Then bend your right knee so that your foot is on the bend, turn on to your left side and tuck your chin to your left shoulder. Hold. Then drop your legs off the side of the bed, keep your chin tucked and sit up on the side of the bed.

Reminder: Please consult your physician or health professional before engaging in any physical activity and stop if you experience pain or discomfort. You should never try this at home without first consulting a Vestibular PT.

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