Dizziness and Motion Sensitivity

Motion Sensitivity Testing in a Vestibular Rehabilitation Assessment

Finding the movements that make you dizzy helps vestibular rehab professionals to tailor your exercise program

How Do We Measure Dizziness?

Dizziness is very subjective, making it difficult to measure.   In an attempt to quantify it and to be able to record improvement over time, one of the things often done in a Vestibular Rehabilitation assessment is called Motion Sensitivity Testing.  This involves a series of movements or position changes, where a person rates their dizziness after the movement on a 0-5 scale, and we compare that to the person’s baseline rating prior to the movement.  We also measure the length of time it takes to return to baseline after each movement.  These numbers can be calculated into a final Motion Sensitivity Quotient, and tracked over time. The movements are just one at a time, with a rest after each one to allow your symptoms to settle back down, so most people tolerate the testing well.  If too provoking, we would just modify the test or wait until later for testing when your dizziness is not so strong.

Finding the movements that make you mildly or moderately dizzy helps us to tailor a vestibular rehabilitation exercise program to your individual needs, as the brain needs to be exposed to these types of movements in order to be able to compensate for a vestibular imbalance.  With controlled exposure to the movements that make you dizzy, the brain can begin to habituate so that the movement becomes less and less bothersome.  Reduction in the intensity and/or duration of your motion-provoked symptoms is a good indicator that your vestibular rehabilitation exercises are helping you improve.

Should You Avoid the Motions That Make You Dizzy?

Research shows that avoiding exposure to the movements that trigger the error signals and make you dizzy actually delays recovery. The brain needs to see these mismatched signals in order to come up with strategies to adapt and compensate.  The mismatched vestibular signals may still be there, but in most cases the brain can make adjustments so that you don’t feel the symptoms anymore through a process called Habituation.

Feel free to contact us – we are here to help you!