Zero Balancing with the Dizzy Client (2022)
Mary L. Behrens, P.T., CZB
Abstract
“Dizziness” is a colloquial term for the general experience individuals associate with a variety of problems with the vestibular system. Because “dizziness” is a general description of a symptom that may have a range of causes, seeking care from various medical specialists, the root problem is often missed, potentially leaving clients suffering for years. Over the last 10 years of clinical practice, I have found Zero Balancing to be an effective treatment for many clients referred for vestibular disorders.
The goal of this paper is to shed light on the reasons for my clinical decision making and understand the patterns of effectiveness in my work. To accomplish this, this paper is organized in 4 sections. In the first section, I provide background regarding the different causes of “dizziness” addressed in a vestibular physical therapy clinic. I focus particularly on Vestibular Migraine (VM) and Persistent Postural Perceptual Dizziness (3PD) as I believe these to be the conditions that most clearly benefit from Zero Balancing. The role of anxiety will also be addressed as it is a significant factor in some vestibular conditions. In the second section I explain the protocol I use in my clinical practice to navigate the labyrinth of decisions, information and clinical signs discussed in the first section. In this section I place the use of Zero Balancing as a treatment in the larger context of other possible treatments. In the third section I present an empirical analysis of some archival patient data collected over the last three years in which I seek to understand what can be learned from our current clinical data collection regarding the vestibular practice. This section addresses the profile of our clients and provides insights into Zero Balancing as a treatment modality. In the final section I discuss my conclusions from the paper and present my thoughts on the use of Zero Balancing in traditional Western-medicine clinical settings.
Mary L. Behrens, P.T., CZB