A habituation approach to treating vertigo in occupational therapy.

Before occupational therapy, the patient's basic and advanced activities of daily living were hindered by her vertigo, causing her to become housebound and to believe that she would never walk again. These feelings brought on a sense of insecurity and helplessness. Vestibular habituation training helped reduced the symptoms. The patient's performance of activities of daily living improved from dependence to independence and restored her self-esteem as she gained more control over her daily functions. I recommend vestibular habituation training as part of treatment of vertigo because desired results can be obtained relatively quickly without the use of medications that may have harmful side effects. In a complicated case such as the one presented in this paper, it is particularly desirable to avoid any medications that might further depress the patient's nervous system. Patients also benefit by actively participating in their own rehabilitation treatment. The necessary habituation stimuli can be incorporated into daily activities as well as into exercises. This combination of active patient participation and integration of therapeutic exercise into performance of daily living tasks is the essence of good occupational therapy.