Abstract

Introduction: Up to 50% of all individuals with migraines experience vertigo. The purpose of this systematic review was to evaluate the effectiveness of vestibular rehabilitation at managing individuals who experience vertigo associated with their migraine headaches.
Methods: The CINAHL Complete, ProQuest Medical Library and PubMed databases were accessed using the following search terms: “migraine” AND “vestibular rehabilitation” OR “vestibular therapy” AND “vertigo” OR “dizziness”. A tool developed by the Oxford Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine was used to examine the evidence level of each included research study and a tool developed by Medlicott and Harris was used to examine the methodological rigor of each included research study.
Results: Vestibular rehabilitation was generally more effective for individuals with a non-migrainous vestibular disorder than it was for individuals with vestibular migraines. However, in all 5 studies, every group of participants benefitted to some degree from a customized vestibular rehabilitation program. Discussion: 2 of the studies proposed that behavioral therapies may benefit those individuals who have been diagnosed with vestibular migraines. 2 other studies suggested that the use of migraine medications may decrease an individual’s sensitivity to head movements and may allow the individual to more fully participate in a vestibular rehabilitation program.
Conclusion: Although it is difficult to draw any definitive conclusions from this systematic review, vestibular rehabilitation should be seriously considered when treating individuals who experience vertigo associated with their migraine headaches.

Keywords: Dizziness; Migraines; Systematic review; Vertigo; Vestibular rehabilitation