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Loma Linda University

Co-diagnosis Frequency of Peripheral Vestibular Disorders and Physical Therapy

Abstract

dc:description.abstract

Dizziness is among the most common reasons that people consult a physician. The two most common causes of dizziness related to peripheral vestibular dysfunction are benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) and vestibular hypofunction (VH). Physical therapy (PT) is an effective component of the medical management for both conditions. The occurrence rate of concurrent BPPV and VH in the same patient has not been described in the literature. Identifying patients with co-diagnosis of BPPV and VH will allow the PT to construct a proper treatment sequence. We conducted a retrospective chart review of 500 consecutive medical records of Veteran's Administration male patients with dizziness referred for videonystagmography (VNG). Co-diagnosis of BPPV and VH, ipsilateral versus contralateral presentation, frequency of referral to PT, and age were recorded. Single diagnosis (38%) was more common than co-diagnosis (6.6%), and ipsilateral presentation of co-diagnosis (48.5%) more frequent than contralateral presentation (33.3%). Additionally, 80.7% of patients who tested positive for a peripheral vestibular disorder were not referred to PT. Age may be related to the occurrence of co-diagnosis of BPPV and VH.

Degree

thesis:*
Name thesis:degree_name
Doctor of Science (DSc)
Level thesis:degree_level
Dissertation
Discipline thesis:degree_discipline
Physical Therapy
Year
2012

Author and committee

dc:creator, dc:contributor.*
Author dc:creator
  • San Lucas, Summer M.
Contributors dc:contributor
  • Johnson, Eric G.
  • Clendaniel, Richard A.
  • Firek, Anthony
  • Tsao, H. Berry
  • Zimmerman, Grentih

Subjects

dc:subject × 7

Rights

dc:rights
Statement dc:rights
  • This title appears here courtesy of the author, who has granted Loma Linda University a limited, non-exclusive right to make this publication available to the public. The author retains all other copyrights.
Language dc:language
English

Identifiers

dc:identifier.*
Repository record dc:identifier
https://scholarsrepository.llu.edu/etd/97
OAI identifier oai:identifier
oai:scholarsrepository.llu.edu:etd-1096

Chain of custody

source
Harvested from
Loma Linda University
Base URL
scholarsrepository.llu.edu/do/oai/
Last updated
2026-07-24
Source record
OAI-PMH GetRecord
citation

San Lucas, Summer M.. Co-diagnosis Frequency of Peripheral Vestibular Disorders and Physical Therapy. Dissertation thesis, 2012. https://scholarsrepository.llu.edu/etd/97