Ask the Expert
Mike Studer, PT, MHS, NCS, CEEAA
Question: What kind of home exercise program would you give a balance and dizziness patient considering safety in the home?
Answer:
Prescribing a home exercise program always comes down to three things. What is the patient’s support structure in terms of ability of an individual to realistically help the patient follow the exercise program? Are they able to safely challenge their balance with someone standing by? Secondly, what is this patient’s work ethic? Are they able to push themselves in an exercise program? Next, think about the balance exercises and the fact that they should be progressed in such a manner that your stimulus causes about 30% loss of balance. When you are looking at patients and you see their capabilities, you need to see that they actually are losing their balance about 30% of the time. If it is greater than that, then they are probably at greater risk for being unsafe. If it is less than that, then you are probably not challenging them enough.
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