Facts about Balance Disorders
- From 2001 through 2004, 35.4% of US adults aged 40 years and older (69 million Americans) had vestibular dysfunction." Agrawal Y, Carey JP, Della Santina CC, Schubert MC, Minor LB. Disorders of balance and vestibular function in US adults. Arch Intern Med. 2009;169(10):938-944
- A majority of individuals over 70 years of age report problems of dizziness and imbalance, and balance-related falls account for more than one-half of the accidental deaths in the elderly…Furthermore, in a sample of persons age 65-75, one-third reported that dizziness and imbalance degraded the quality of their lives." Agrawal Y, Carey JP, Della Santina CC, Schubert MC, Minor LB. Disorders of balance and vestibular function in US adults. Arch Intern Med. 2009;169(10):938-944
- It has been reported that, in the primary care setting, 70% of elderly patients present with dizziness;1 and that 3,200 per 100,000 new cases per year visit a primary care physician.Sloan, PD (1989). Dizziness in primary care. Results from the national ambulatory medical care survey. J Family Practice 29:33-38.
- Treatment of the injuries and complications associated with these falls costs the United States $20.2 billion annually. A serious national problem now, falls could reach epidemic levels as the population ages in the future. http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=A00118&return_link=0
- At least half of the overall U.S. population is affected by a balance or vestibular disorder sometime during their lives. National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, March 1977
- 40% of the population over age 40 will experience a dizziness disorder in their lifetime. National Institute of Health
- In patients with chronic balance problems, only vestibular rehabilitation has shown to improve balance function and performance when compared to medical therapy or general exercises. -Horak F, et al. Effects of vestibular rehabilitation on dizziness and imbalance. Otolaryngology Head&Neck Surgery 106:175; 1992
- Timothy Hain, MD (Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago) "Vestibular rehabilitation therapy is frequently worthwhile, but selection of the best type depends on both the diagnosis and the healthcare situation."
- F. Owen Black, MD (Legacy Clinical Research and Technology Center, Department of Neurotology Research, Portland, Oregon, USA; NASA Scientist) "Properly conducted and supervised vestibular rehabilitation therapy ameliorates a wide variety of peripheral and central balance disorders in patients of all ages."
- Edwin Monsell, MD, PhD (Neurotologist, ARO Researcher, Detroit, MI) "Exercises have long been an accepted strategy for managing the dizzy patient. Indeed, exercises have been the main strategy recommended for patients with stable, chronic symptoms of imbalance and motion intolerance."
- Thomas Brandt, MD (Institute of Clinical Neurosciences University of Munich, Munich, Germany) "A gradual program of physical exercise under the supervision of a physiotherapist improves the central vestibular compensation of a peripheral deficit vestibular disorder."
- Robert Baloh, MD (UCLA School of Medicine) Clinicians have long felt that vestibular compensation occurs more rapidly and is more complete if the patient begins exercising as soon as possible after the occurrence of a vestibular lesion. The goal of vestibular exercises is to accelerate the process of vestibular compensation and improve the final level of recovery. Controlled studies in animals and humans indicate that exercising can accelerate the recovery of balance after a peripheral vestibular lesion…
- Michael Strupp, MD (Department of Neurology, University of Munich, Munich, Germany) "The efficacy of physiotherapy in improving central vestibulospinal compensation in patients wit vestibular pathology has been proven in a prospective, randomized, and controlled clinical study and confirmed in a meta-analysis."
