Article

Behavioral factors are an integral part of the overall morbidity of patients with
vertigo, dizziness, and balance disorders. Anxiety, depression, and more
importantly, loss of balance confidence and sense of debility and handicap
beleaguer patients with acute and chronic vestibular symptoms. Vestibular
rehabilitation originated as a physical therapy, but a careful look at its
research development and clinical applications show it to be as much, or perhaps
more, a behavioral intervention. More patients referred for vestibular
rehabilitation require habituation to chronic vestibular symptoms and motion
sensitivity than compensation for active peripheral or central vestibular
deficits. Vestibular rehabilitation may exert a positive effect on behavioral
morbidity, but the benefits are somewhat uneven and do not always correlate with
physical improvements. Health anxiety (i.e., excessive worry about the cause and
consequences of physical symptoms) is an emerging concept in clinical psychiatry
and psychology. It may offer an important key to understanding the debility and
handicap experienced by many patients with vestibular symptoms and enhance the
ability of vestibular rehabilitation to ameliorate their suffering.

Langue : ANGLAIS