Effects of physiotherapy on balance and unilateral vestibular hypofunction in vertiginous elderly

• Autor(a) principal: Rocha Júnior, Paulo Roberto
• Data de Publicação: 2014
• Outros Autores: Peres, Amanda da Silva, Garbi, Fernando Pereira, Frizzo, Ana Cláudia Figueiredo [UNESP], Valenti, Vitor Engrácia [UNESP]
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Institucional da UNESP
• Texto Completo: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3938970/; http://hdl.handle.net/11449/115499

Background: We aimed to analyze the effect of a physical therapy protocol on unilateral vestibular hypofunction and overall balance in elderly with vertigo. Methods: The study included nine subjects, four male subjects (68.5 ± 11.09 years old) and five females (72.4 ± 7.09 years old). It was used the performance-oriented Mobility Assessment (POMA), to evaluate the balance and the Unterberger – Fukuda test for analysis of unilateral vestibular dysfunction through rotations and displacements of the body. We developed and applied a structured physical therapy protocol, consisting of group exercises. Results: It was observed that after the protocol, all participants improved balance (33.9 ± 5.1 vs. 47.3 ± 7.6, p < 0.0001) and displacement (111.1 ± 38.0 vs. 53.3 ± 34.6, p = 0.0001). However, it was not found significant differences for rotation. Conclusion: The proposed protocol has contributed to an improvement in balance and vestibular dysfunction of the aged.