Exercise can help manage balance issues associated with Meniere’s disease while simultaneously relieving stress.
Misfires within the vestibular system – consisting of three small organs located within the inner ear filled with endolymph fluid – may lead to balance issues, so interactions must be reprogrammed and strengthened for proper stability.
Head and Neck Exercises
Meniere’s disease cannot be cured, but physical therapy can provide important relief. A physical therapist will evaluate your symptoms and suggest appropriate neck exercises designed to decrease dizziness while increasing overall health benefits; exercise can even help with improving tinnitus (ringing in the ears).
Romberg Exercise (or “stance”) is an effective balance-retraining activity that may help alleviate vertigo in those living with Meniere’s disease. To perform it effectively, simply stand upright with feet together and arms by your sides for 30 seconds twice daily until accustomed. For optimal results it should be performed gradually so as to not trigger symptoms related to Meniere’s disease.
Gaze stabilization is another balance-retraining exercise designed to retrain eye movements. To perform it successfully, look directly ahead while focusing on an E at eye level held out in front of you – it should remain fixed while turning your head from side to side and turning. As with other Meniere’s disease home exercises, begin slowly increasing repetitions until confidence grows with you.
For those suffering from BPPV (benign paroxysmal positional vertigo), the Brandt-Daroff maneuver can help dislodge crystals in their semicircular canal and relieve symptoms. Although simple in principle, this might produce symptoms for some individuals.
The Semont maneuver, commonly referred to as the liberatory maneuver, is another form of BPPV treatment that may prove more successful than its counterpart: Brandt-Daroff maneuver. Sitting upright on your bed’s middle-ground with feet placed firmly on floor surface while turning your head 45 degrees right then rapidly dropping down until head touches bed is required for repetition on left side. This should then be repeated twice more.
Those suffering from nystagmus, or rapid eye movements, may benefit from performing the Levator Scapulae Stretching Meniere’s Disease Home Exercise as it involves moving your head from right to left several times consecutively.
Habituation Exercises
These exercises are intended to help you better accept and understand the information your vestibular system provides to your brain, which assists with balance and orientation in space. When your inner ear or vestibular system becomes damaged, however, its function may be compromised causing your central or brain systems to compensate in an improper way. These exercises simply stimulate the vestibular system repeatedly while stimulating its stimulation teaches your brain how to adapt to this abnormal stimulus.
Common complaints when performing certain movements is feeling dizzy or dizzier than anticipated, making movement even harder to manage and leading people away from certain activities altogether. Unfortunately, people often avoid such activities altogether which causes further dizziness and decreased confidence with movement – this is why retraining your nervous system to adapt more easily is necessary in order to deal with such movements.
Romberg Exercise is the simplest of these treatments. This involves sitting upright and staring at a target on the wall (your thumb or post-it type sticker with an X), about 3 feet or 1 meter away, rhythmically moving your eyes right and left until dizziness subsides quickly – this exercise should gradually improve symptoms as you continue.
Other habituation exercises involve turning your head and eyes from side to side, either sitting or standing, until they find a comfortable position for them. Repeated turns may cause dizziness and nausea, but work through these feelings; nausea is caused by malfunctioning inner ears which will eventually subside with these exercises.
Other exercises can be conducted in a hallway or open area that involve walking whilst turning your head and eyes between the floor and ceiling, which can be quite challenging. You will receive guidance as to how many steps should be walked before resting to allow symptoms to subside.
Balance Training
Meniere’s Disease patients often find performing balance training exercises challenging, particularly if they experience dizziness during or after exercising, due to how the inner ear is affected by this condition. When fluid accumulates within it, sensory impulses regarding movement cannot reach the brain as effectively, leaving proprioceptive (joint) and visual systems unconnected from each other and increasing vertigo duration. Therefore it’s vital that those living with Meniere’s Disease seek out activities which elicit feelings of imbalance rather than trying to avoid them altogether as it may only prolong episodes of vertigo.
Balance-training exercises should ideally be practiced three times daily for two weeks in order to fully resolve dizziness symptoms and eliminate dizziness altogether. An individual can track how many consecutive days without dizziness he/she experiences in order to determine when all dizziness symptoms have subsided.
A physiotherapist will be able to provide individuals with Meniere’s Disease with an exhaustive list of exercises and their duration. It is suggested they begin doing each of the exercises for just 10 seconds at first before gradually increasing this to 1 full minute each. Furthermore, it’s a good idea for them to always practice them with someone present as support – just in case dizziness strikes!
As part of a standing balance-training exercise, one should stand tall with their back six to eight inches away from a wall and feet hip width apart. They then should shift their weight toward their left foot while maintaining relaxed shoulders and lengthening of their spines. They then slowly lift one leg out to the side without dropping their hips or cocking knees before returning back into starting position and repeating this on both sides for up to 30 seconds each side; gradually as their balance improves they should move their legs further apart and increase intensity by lifting faster.
Physical Therapy
At Regain Your Balance, our aim is to restore your equilibrium and train your brain to recognize triggers of dizziness and vertigo that cause dizziness or vertigo, along with habituation exercises to decrease their frequency and severity. Our aim is to restore quality of life for you so you can take a walk with your dog or shop at the mall without experiencing dizziness. In order to do so, we simulate situations that trigger episodes, teaching you how to avoid them; such as putting your head into various positions or simulating motions which causes symptoms – as well as improving posture and strengthening neck muscles that keep you upright.
The vestibular system comprises three tiny organs located within the inner ear: the utricle, saccule and three semicircular canals. Filled with endolymph fluid that stimulates receptors on their surface to send impulses directly to the brain regarding movement; once received by this pathway, data from proprioceptive (tracking your body position and movement) and visual systems is then combined together for accurate coordination.
Meniere’s disease is caused by a buildup of fluid in an inner ear segment called the labyrinth. Due to improper connections within this section, incorrect signals are sent back to your brain about head movement and balance problems ensue. Physical therapy specialists specialize in rehabilitation for vestibular disorders including Meniere’s.
Researchers recently conducted a retrospective design study, using physical therapy as part of treatment for Meniere’s disease. 539 participants who met these criteria completed questionnaires about their training habits, vertigo symptoms, impact of disease on quality of life and treatment options – with physical therapy shown to make an improvement in symptoms overall.
Physical therapy was found to have a “medium” short-term impact in improving Meniere’s symptoms; however, they found wide variance across studies regarding immediate effects. As different treatments may work better for some patients over others, it’s essential that when trying to alleviate your Meniere’s symptoms it be done so under the guidance of an accredited physical therapist.
