gms | German Medical Science

Introduction: The rehabilitation of patients with peripheral-vestibular disorder was rarely evaluated up to now. Furthermore, the physiotherapy plays only a subordinate role in the itinerant and stationary application in which the related powers can be judged only heavily at the present time. Up to now, the effective evaluation of the stationary rehabilitation carried out was objective of this investigation of patients with peripheral-vestibular disorder. In a second step, the development is planned evaluation and implementation of new simple and complex sensorimotor training methods.

Methods: In a quasi-experimental profile investigation, 34 patients (Average age: 52.6 ± 13.8 years) were bilateral loss of the organ’s equilibrium with the aid of the Posturography (Interactive balance system of the company Neurodata) and the DHI (Dizziness Handicap Inventory) with regard to their attitude regularization and existential orientation (Physical, Functional, Emotional) checks. The 10 Day Long stationary rehabilitation contains a rheological drip therapy as well as simple physiotherapeutical measures. The patients were examined on the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th and 10th day posturographical. The questioning occurred on the first and 10th day of the treatments on the patients. After 12th and 30th weeks, the sustainability of the intervention was controlled.

Results: The posturographical results show significant improvements both in the parameters of the motor outputs (Stability indicator: p=0.002, Partial Eta-Quadrat=0.149) and on the process level of the postural subsystems. In particular, the peripheral-vestibular system, that through the frequency range F 2-4 (Hz 0.1-0.5) of the quartermaster analysis is parameterized, showed clear improvements (p=0.000, Partial Eta-Quadrat=0.205). The effects were also significant in the fields of the somatosensorical system (F 5-6: Hz 0.5-1.0; p=0.002, Partial Eta-Quadrat=0.148) and the visual system (F 1: Hz 0.03-0.1; p=0.039, Partial Eta-Quadrat=0.074). Concerning the existential orientation dimension, understands with the DHI, high-significant effects (p<0.001) turned out in all dimensions, particularly on functional level (Partial Eta square: Functional=0.701; Physisch=0.540; Emotional=0.483).

Discussion and conclusion: The present investigation shows that attitude regularization and existential orientation of patients in the course of the 10 Day Long Rehabilitation was improved. However, first results of the follow-up-phases indicate a small sustainability of the achieved effects. In order to safeguard these and to increase the effects of the rehabilitation in the case of peripheral-vestibular disorders, a clearly stronger weighting of sensomotorical rehabilitation contents is planned.

Keywords: Rehabilitation, disturbances of equilibrium, Posturography