What is Vestibular Rehabilitation? How it Can Help Our Senior Loved Ones Fix Their Balancing Issues?

Our senior loved ones often complain about feeling dizzy which makes them prone to trips and falls that can be fatal. This problem can be due to no physical movement and can be resolved with some sort of physical activity but sometimes it requires the interference of a vestibular rehabilitation therapist to fix this balancing issue to help our senior loved ones lead a comfortable and normal life.

Today, let us have a close look at what vestibular rehabilitation is and how it can help our beloved seniors

Our balance system is made up of Vision, Proprioception (perception or awareness of the position and movement of the body), and the Vestibular system (which is the inner ear). When people age the perfect equilibrium between these three gets disturbed and causes balance issues among seniors.

Vestibular Rehabilitation also known as vestibular rehabilitation therapy (VRT) is a specialized form of physical therapy used to treat balancing issues, posture, vision problems, and many more. Now, you may wonder how you will know if your senior loved ones need help from an expert. The answer is, if you notice your senior loved ones are having difficulties in maintaining their body balance, especially when turning their heads and crossing the street, or walking on uneven sidewalks then you should seek specialist attention immediately.

Hiring rehab assistance services from an elder care service in Kolkata can ease up your worries. The vestibular rehabilitation therapist will have a gait (manner of walking) and balanced assessment of the elderly people. Additionally, they will be asked to walk, turn their head, balance with eyes open or closed, and stand on an uneven surface. Also, the expert would ask additional questions about dizziness and other issues and will teach some exercises to fix the balancing issues of your loved ones. The exercises might include the following:

Standing: Change from a sitting to a standing position with eyes open, then closed, etc.

In bed or sitting: Eye movements (up and down, from side to side, focusing on fingers moving from three feet to one foot away from the face, etc.). Head Movements: (Bending forward and backward, turning from side to side, etc.)

Moving: Walk-Up and down a slope Throwing and catching a ball etc.

Timely follow-up and doing the exercises regularly will help your beloved seniors to cope with this and also help them to lead a comfortable and relaxing life.

You can take some extra precautions to help your senior loved ones avoid falls and trips such as

Keep the lights of the passages and hallways on during the night to prevent falls and trips

Your beloved seniors should get up slowly from the bed and wait for at least 20-30 seconds before standing up and ensure your senior loved ones use a cane or a walker for stability if needed.

Wearing spectacles and undergoing eye examinations once a year and if they wear bifocals we need to make sure that they are tilting their head down while descending stairs so that their vision doesn’t blur the steps

This is how you can help your senior loved ones lead a normal and comfortable life by helping them fix balancing issues.

Debosree is a professional writer working in the Senior Care Field for quite a long time. She has written many informative blogs and articles on the senior care facilities that are available. He has a great reader base.