Hi There,
I suffered a PICA stroke in September 2018 in the left cerebellar and the left medulla. My biggest problem is dizziness 24 / 7, my physio and neurologist has prescribed gaze stabilisation exercises in the last few weeks, just wondering if anyone has done these and have they worked? And how long does it take?
thank you,
Hi William,
Thank you for posting your question onto EnableMe. I am sorry to hear about your stroke and the dizziness you are experiencing from it. Having dizziness 24/7 can be really debilitating, and it is great that you have input from a physio and neurologist.
It sounds like you are receiving appropriate treatment. Gaze stabilisation exercises help to improve the control of eye movements so vision remains clear during head movement. These exercises are used in vestibular rehabilitation (i.e. Rehabilitation that helps decrease dizziness, imbalance, vertigo, gaze instability) They have been shown to help with symptoms from cerebellar conditions.
The physio may have prescribed gaze stabilization exercises to do each day as homework. When doing the exercises, you should feel some dizziness but not to the point that you are sick. With these exercises, they may feel very unsettling to start with and finding the right amount is important. An important part of the process is understanding that the brain will need to experience feelings of dizziness or imbalance, to encourage it to learn and adapt. (As hard as this may feel!) The physio may also incorporate the exercises into daily activities that are meaningful to you. Just like movement rehabilitation, recovery will depend on frequency and intensity of exercises as prescribed by your physiotherapist. Usually with adherence to a program you will experience less dizziness within weeks.
Goals and reassessments can be really helpful in measuring your progress. If you don’t feel like much has changed, keep discussing with your physio. Find out reasons why, try not to let it get you down, and take it as an opportunity to reevaluate... And don't forget to celebrate your wins!
Here is a great blog that may be helpful.
Australian Physio Association: Dizziness after Stroke blog
If you need further information, please don’t hesitate to call us on StrokeLine 1800 787 653
Warm regards,
Kath (StrokeLine)
Thanks Kath, hopefully they work
Hi William
I did osme exercises with a physio which I continued at home. I didn't suffer from dizziness to the extent you do for me it was more a case of when I turned my head. I statred noticing an improvement within a matter of weeks . One of the more frustrating aspects of the exercises was finiding the balance between doing enough and doing toomuch. Too much wiped me out for a considerable amount of time. I'm nearly seven years post stroke and it is greatly improved. I find if I'm tired etc then it's worse. I no longer do the exercises on a regular basis it's more so if I feel I'm experiencing it on an increased basis then I go back to the exeercises.
Good luck
Toni