Effect of Vestibular Rehabilitation on Cognition and Eye Hand Coordination in Elderly

Abstract

Introduction: People’s lives are growing longer and in elderly people there is need to develop and implement effective exercise program to help alleviate some of the problems associated with aging. Vestibular Rehabilitation refers to interventions such as adaptation exercise, repositioning technique and exercise. Cognitive decline is among the most feared aspect of growing old. There is now growing line of research showing that the vestibular system which is intrinsically highly convergent with other sensory and motor signals interacts with various cognitive processes. Objectives: The main objective of this study is to evaluate the effect of Vestibular Rehabilitation on Cognition and Eye Hand Coordination in Elderly. Method: Based on the Inclusion and Exclusion criteria 60 subjects will be enrolled for the study by random sampling. The subjects will be divided into 2 groups A and B of 30 each. Group A will be given conventional treatment of flexibility and strengthening exercises. Group B will be given conventional treatment along with it Vestibular Rehabilitation exercises protocol will be added which include Cawthorne and Cooksey exercises for head movements. The exercise protocol will be given for twice a week for 12 weeks. Pre and Post test evaluation will be done for Cognition using Mini Mental State Examination and Eye Hand Coordination will be assessed by measuring reaction time using Ruler Drop test. Statistical Analysis: Descriptive Statistics, Paired’t’ and Unpaired’t’ test.