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University of the Pacific

The incorporation of musculosketal exercises in traditional vestibular rehabilitation

Abstract

dc:description.abstract

<p>The vestibular system of the human body is responsible for gait control and spatial orientation. Like all human organs, the vestibular system can deteriorate through sickness or aging. Vestibular rehabilitation is aimed at reducing dizziness and imbalance through physical therapy. Patients compensate for their vestibular loss by using visual or proprioceptive cues from their physical therapy. A traditional vestibular rehabilitation protocol includes habituation and adaptation exercises. This observational case study will explore the effectiveness of incorporating lower extremity exercises into a vestibular protocol. The control group consisted of 23 members all diagnosed with a vestibular disorder. The treatment patient was a 72-year-old woman. After 8 visits of physical therapy, the treatment patient made an objective and subjective clinical improvement. She improved on every objective examination and reported her symptom severity as completely absent. She attributes her musculoskeletal exercise as the main factor in her imbalance improvement. The success of this case study bodes well for further research. This study was to explore and provide insight on a new method in treating vestibular disorders. A new exploration can begin on how we can incorporate lower extremity exercises into more vestibular programs.</p>

Degree

thesis:*
Name thesis:degree_name
Master of Arts (M.A.)
Level thesis:degree_level
Thesis - Pacific Access Restricted
Discipline thesis:degree_discipline
Sport Sciences
Year dc:date.available
2016

Author and committee

dc:creator, dc:contributor.*
Author dc:creator
  • Santa Cruz, Albert J.
Contributors dc:contributor
  • Mark VanNess

Subjects

dc:subject × 11

Rights

dc:rights

Identifiers

dc:identifier.*
Identifier
9781369183610
OAI identifier oai:identifier
oai:scholarlycommons.pacific.edu:uop_etds-1305

Chain of custody

source
Harvested from
University of the Pacific
Base URL
scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/do/oai/
Last updated
2026-07-24
Source record
OAI-PMH GetRecord
citation

Santa Cruz, Albert J.. The incorporation of musculosketal exercises in traditional vestibular rehabilitation. Thesis - Pacific Access Restricted thesis, 2016. https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/uop_etds/306