Evaluation of vestibular exercises in the management of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo

Aim (1) To evaluate the role of vestibular exercises in the management of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV). (2) To compare the three vestibular exercises (Semont’s manoeuvre, Epley’s manoeuvre or Brandt-Daroff exercises) in the treatment of BPPV. Settings and Design Prospective randomised study Methods and Material Fourty-eight patients diagnosed as BPPV in the study period November 2005–2006 were included in the study. They were randomly assigned to one of three groups, and the corresponding manoeuvre was done on them. Follow-up were at 2 weeks and 3 months. Results Thirty-five of the 48 patients (72.91%) reported relief of symptoms at 2 weeks and no recurrence of symptoms at 3 months. Result was best for the group which was subjected to the Epley manoeuvre (87.5%). Conclusions Performance of any of the three manoeuvres can be expected to give good results in the management of BPPV. The Epley manoeuvre appears to be better than the other two in terms of relief of symptoms and prevention of recurrence.