Clinical benefits to vestibular rehabilitation in multiple sclerosis. Report of 4 cases.

BACKGROUND Balance difficulties are common among multiple sclerosis patients. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effectiveness of the Cawthorne and Cooksey protocol of vestibular rehabilitation (VR) exercises in reducing the physical, functional and emotional impact of multiple sclerosis among individuals who complained of vertigo. METHODS Four patients with remittent-recurrent multiple sclerosis underwent an interview, otorhinolaryngological and vestibular evaluation, VR exercises and the Dizziness Handicap Inventory pre- and post-intervention. RESULTS There was significant improvement in the physical, functional and emotional aspects of the DHI after the completion of the VR. CONCLUSION The VR exercises appeared useful in reducing subjective complaints of the study participants.