Book an appointment or to speak with one of our physiotherapists
Book an appointment
Call Us - 01689 851143 01689 851143
VESTIBULAR REHABILITATION THERAPY

Helping your body find its balance again

Maintaining balance is a complex process that requires constant communication between your brain, eyes, inner ear, muscles and joints.

Your vestibular system is responsible for sending signals to the brain about motion and head position.

It works closely with your eyes and muscles to keep you upright, stabilise your vision, and help you move confidently.

When this system becomes impaired due to injury, illness, aging, or other health conditions then the communication between these senses can become disrupted, resulting in distressing symptoms

What is Vestibular Rehabilitation therapy

The therapy involves an exercise based program that helps you manage balance issues and dizziness.

Dizziness

Dizziness happens when something affects your sense of spatial awareness. Spatial awareness is your brain calculating the position of your body in relation to its surroundings. Once this system is affected you may feel dizzy or feels as though you have lost your sense of balance.

Dizziness may be a symptom of specific medical conditions that also affect your sense of balance. These issues may cause other symptoms like muscle fatigue and headaches.

Balance

Your ability to balance relies on a relationship between your brain and sensory system. The sensory system includes:

  • The vestibular labyrinth in your inner ear. This includes canals which react when you turn your head and organs that react to gravity and movement.
  • Your vision which sends impulses to the brain showing your relationship to other objects.
  • Your skin, joints and muscles. These structures have nerve receptors which send messages to the brain when movement puts pressure on your tissues. This helps your brain work out where you are in space.

The brain then uses all of this information to tell the body how to maintain balance. If something interferes with the vestibular system then the faulty processing of information can result in dizziness and / or loss of balance.

Vestibular Therapy helps restore the normal functioning of these symptoms.

What does Vestibular Therapy Involve?

The specialist physiotherapist will fully assess you prior to any treatment to ensure that you are suitable to undergo the program. If the Physiotherapist feels that Vestibular Therapy is inappropriate for you then they may recommend an onward referral for further investigation.

The Physiotherapist will tailor your program specifically for you. Vestibular Therapy treatment may include:

  • eye movement control
  • balance retraining
  • stretching and strengthening
  • canal repositioning techniques (such as the Epley’s manoeuvre)
  • education on symptom management and pacing
  • evaluation and treatment of any neck problems which may be contributing factors
  • a home exercise program

For more information or to make an appointment please contact us directly.

Frequently Asked Questions

If you can’t find what you’re looking for in the FAQs, we’re here to help. Get in touch with the Village Physiotherapy team for clear advice and to book your appointment.

If you’ve not been to us before then you are probably wondering what to expect at your first appointment.

You will need to tell us as much as you can about your injury and any previous problems that you may have had. We will ask you about your general health and any medication that you may be taking. All this gets us thinking straight away about what the cause of your problem might be.

We will then conduct a thorough examination looking at your Neuro-musculoskeletal system. Don’t expect just to be examined laying on the bed for 10 minutes. We will need to look at how you move to fully assess what is wrong and get on with planning what we can do to help.

After the assessment we will explain where the pain is coming from, why you’ve got the pain and how we can help you solve the problem. Establishing a precise diagnosis allows us to start your treatment and recovery program immediately.

It’s also important that you tell us what you want to achieve with a treatment program so we can work together towards achieving your goals.
If you would like to know more about our Physiotherapy Service please get in touch and speak to one of our Physiotherapists.

Top Tips

  • We suggest you arrive 5-10 minutes early for your first appointment as you may need to fill in a registration form.
  • We will take some details regarding your address, GP and medical insurance if required.
  • Our Physios will need to see the problematic area. If it’s a shoulder then we suggest wearing a vest top; if it’s a knee then shorts or loose fitting tracksuit bottoms.
  • Bring along any scans, letters or reports that may be relevant to your problem.
  • If you think your sport may be affecting your injury then bring along any equipment you think might be relevant. For example running shoes, tennis racket or cricket bat.

Our initial aim is to restore you to normal pain-free movement as soon as possible. The important bit is to help you maintain this ‘normal movement’ to minimise the risk of re-injury.

We can use lots of different techniques to get you pain-free depending on your problem. These may include manual therapy, strengthening programs, postural correction, massage, taping, acupuncture and electrotherapy.

As you become pain-free the focus moves towards education and exercise based rehabilitation to help you achieve your goals whether they be climbing stairs without assistance or running a half-marathon. We have a fully equipped gym to help maximise your recovery.

For long standing injuries such as chronic low back pain we will also offer advice on strategies to manage your pain and become more active.

Physiotherapists are independent practitioners so a GP referral is not required for self-funding patients. Patients with Health Insurance usually require a GP or Consultant referral so it’s best to check with the Insurance Company directly.

 

Occasionally it may be necessary to refer you to another specialist for an opinion.

Our Physios work closely with a number of consultants who are experts in the fields of Orthopaedics, Neurology, Sports Medicine, Pain Medicine and Rheumatology.

Referral can be to one of our expert colleagues at either a local private hospital or specialist clinics in Central London.

We see patients who are self funding as well as those who have private health insurance. We are registered with all major private medical insurance companies.

Need more details regarding use of your health insurance? Learn more on our Private Medical Insurance page.

Our facilities at The Village include individual treatment rooms for patient privacy along with a fully equipped gym and exercise studio for injury rehabilitation.

Make an appointment or to speak with one of our physiotherapists

Our friendly team is here to help with any questions you may have. Get in touch to book an appointment or discuss your treatment options with one of our expert Physiotherapists.
Copyright © 2026 Village Physiotherapy.