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Small Clinics Can have Big Impact on Vestibular Patients

December 25, 2013

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Question

We have a large vestibular center in our area.  Do you feel that we can be just as successful with our patient outcomes in our small clinic? What do you feel are the essentials to having a clinic for treatment of our patients?

 

Answer

Absoluetly!  You can be just as successful in a small clinic.  All that you need is a stopwatch, a metronome, and a Snellen eye chart.  You need to be able to accurately measure the VOR and provide progressive treatment.  You can do balance training with a little bit of foam.  In the small clinic that I used to work in, I would tape letters all over the place, and that was enough.  In the large vestibular centers, they can do calorics and rotary chair.  If you check the literature, you will see that reliability and validity of the caloric test is poor.  ENG testing only tests the horizontal canal.  There are limitations. Unless you get some really rare diagnoses that may need surgery, BPPV and unilateral hypofunction are the two most common things you find out there, you can absolutely treat with a plinth, a stopwatch, and your free iPhone app.  You will be successful.  

 


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