The effect of brandt-daroff exercise on the vestibular organ of women with vertigo

Abstract

[Purpose] The purpose of this study was to find the effects of the Brandt-Daroff exercise on vestibular functions, such as balance, perception of subjective visual vertical (SVV), and nystagmus, in women with vertigo. [Subjects] After asking a group of women five questions about vertigo symptoms, we chose 17 women, in the age range of 19 to 21, who each had more than one symptom to participate in this study. [Methods] Vestibular functions were assessed through the use of a balance pad, subjective visual vertical (SVV), and videonystagmography (VNG). Each subject performed the Brandt-Daroff exercise five times a day for two weeks from May 8th to May 21th in 2010. Afterwards, vestibular functions were assessed by the same measuring instruments. After the intervention, the changes in vestibular functions were analyzed by the Wilcoxon sign rank test and repeated measures ANOVA test with the SPSSWIN (ver 18.0) package program. [Results] After the Brandt-Daroff exercise, perception of SVV in the left eye and right eye improved. In VNG, involuntary eye movement improved after exercise. However, neither measured equilibrium on the balance pad nor SVV in both eyes had changed. [Conclusion] This study revealed that two weeks performance of the Brandt-Daroff exercise improves some vestibular functions of women with vertigo. However, some functions did not change. Therefore, it seems that another study is needed to assess the effects of exercise for more than two weeks.