Effects of Vestibular Rehabilitation in the Treatment of Dizziness and Balance Disturbances After Concussion

Effects of Vestibular Rehabilitation in the Treatment of Dizziness and Balance Disturbances After Concussion

The goal of this clinical trial is to study the effects of including vestibular rehabilitation in the treatment of dizziness and balance disturbances in athletes after concussion. The main questions it aims to answer are:

• Does inclusion of vestibular rehabilitation treatment have an effect on symptom resolution in those with concussion?
• Does inclusion of vestibular rehabilitation treatment have an effect on the rate of recovery and return to play after concussion? Researchers will compare vestibular rehabilitation treatment inclusion in concussion treatment to a traditional concussion treatment approach to see if the rate of symptom resolution and return to play are affected by including vestibular rehabilitation for participants who have experienced a concussion within one week of presenting for the study.

Participants will:

• Be randomly assigned to either receive vestibular rehabilitation included in their concussion treatment or have traditional concussion treatment without vestibular rehabilitation.
• Complete treatment sessions two times per week for up to four weeks
• Complete the corresponding home program for the treatment group
• Complete baseline symptom testing and repeat the symptom testing at study completion for data comparison. Testing includes: Sport Concussion Assessment Tool (SCAT5) including 1) the athlete's background 2) symptom evaluation 3) cognitive screening 4) neurological screening and 5) delayed recall, a Dynamic Gait Index (DGI) including 1) gait on level surface 2) change in gait speed 3) gait with horizontal head turns 4) gait with vertical head turns 5) gait and pivot turn 6) step over obstacle 7) step around obstacle 8) stairs, and a vestibular evaluation including 1) patient history 2) visual assessment 3) vertebral artery clearance 4) cervical spine clearance 5) inner ear assessment 6) brief balance assessment.

Nothing further to include that is not entered or uploaded elsewhere in the record

Inclusion Criteria:

• Athlete from a small regional university
• Experiences a concussion
• Identified by their certified athletic trainer to have dizziness or balance dysfunctions
• Referred for initial contact testing and treatment

Exclusion Criteria:

• Acute spinal cord injury with neurological deficits
• Epidural and subdural hematoma with known manifestations
• Acute cervical spine injury