Review on Physical Therapy for Patients with Vestibular Disorder

Effort to improve balance ability in the field of rehabilitation has been constantly issued and developed up to now. A variety of subcomponent of postural control including function and cognition should be needed in many body systems and be complicatedly linked to each system. In South Korea, although decreased postural dysfunction due to neurological or musculoskeletal disorders has been well documented, we do not have many experience and knowledge of vestibular rehabilitation for maintain and improve balance function. In the United States, vestibular physical therapy is already acknowledged as clinical subspecialty by American Physical Therapy Association. However, there is no curriculum subject related to vestibular rehabilitation in standard education of physical therapy and no specialist who has clinical experience and knowledge of this realm. Therefore, we reviewed general information and basic knowledge of vestibular rehabilitation such as current state of vestibular disorder in South Korea, pathology, major causes of vestibular dysfunction including peripheral vestibular disorders, vestibular neuritis, benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, and central disorder, evaluation of vestibular dysfunction, and treatment for vestibular dysfunction new approaches. We expect that physical therapist in South Korea recognize clinical significance of vestibular exercise and that clinical concern and research will be begun in near future.