Effects of Early Vestibular Rehabilitation Compared to Standard Care in Patients With Dizziness and Balance Disorders After Sport and Recreation Concussion

As awareness of concussion and the numbers of reported concussions increase every year in the last few years, so does the need for more effective treatment strategies. Concussions can lead to a variety of symptoms that may last from days to weeks after injury.[1] Dizziness and vestibular impairments are prevalent in up to 81% of patients after concussion.[2,3] Additionally, dizziness and vestibular impairments are predictive of prolonged recovery times after concussion.[4] Although there are few studies suggesting that vestibular rehabilitation after concussion is promising,[5,6] there continues to be a void in well-controlled studies verifying that vestibular rehabilitation can be used to treat patients with dizziness and balance disorders after concussion. Due to the lack of controlled studies and current practice patterns, patients with concussions are not seen for physical therapy until weeks or months after their injury. The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of early vestibular rehabilitation on reducing physical post-concussion symptoms (e.g. dizziness, balance problems), and improving the timeline to achieve medical clearance to return to activities such as sports and work activities, when compared to STANDARD care. The findings of this study are expected to provide medical and sports related professionals with appropriate concussion treatment strategies and improve outcomes of patients suffering from concussion.