[Benefit of rotational exercises for patients with Meniere's syndrome, method used by the ENT department of St-Luc university clinic].
OBJECTIVE
To date, the effectiveness of balanced rehabilitation for patients with Meniere's syndrome has not been unanimously acknowledged by all physicians and physiotherapists. The purpose of this study is to assess the therapeutic efficacy of rotational exercises in the treatment of disequilibrium for patients with unilateral Meniere's syndrome.


METHODS
Rotational stimuli were used to symmetrize and reduce postrotatory nystagmic response. Three reference sources were used to assess the efficacy of this management: vestibulospinal function tests: pre- and post-treatment results at the Romberg test, the Unterberger-Fukuda stepping test, the Babinski-Weil test, and gait testing with eyes closed; rotational tests: pre- and post-treatment results; and the self-perceived impact of vertigo: assessed by the Dizziness Handicap Inventory (DHI) and a scale based on the guidelines of the Japanese Society of Equilibrium Research (JSER, 1993). The JSER scale provides quantitative vertigo evaluation; the DHI reflects the patient's perceptual evaluation of handicap.


RESULTS
Patients required 11 sessions (mean value) to attain subjective improvement. Of the 23 patients, only seven required optokinetic stimulation (mean requirement: three sessions). Rotational tests and dynamic tests of the vestibulospinal function improved. The DHI and JSER results show that patients' post-rehabilitation perceptual evaluation significantly improved.


CONCLUSIONS
The objective and subjective measures of disequilibrium in patients with unilateral Meniere's syndrome were significantly improved.
Nyabenda
A
A
Service d'otorhinolaryngologie, cliniques universitaires Saint-Luc, université catholique de Louvain, 10, avenue Hippocrate, 1200 Bruxelles, Belgique. anyabenda@msn.com
Briart
C
C
Deggouj
N
N
Gersdorff
M
M
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005081:Exercise Therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D018953:Kinesiology, Applied; D008297:Male; D008575:Meniere Disease / Q000628:therapy*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009068:Movement; D009759:Nystagmus, Pathologic; D026741:Physical Therapy Modalities; D016896:Treatment Outcome