Course Description:

A resolution passed in the APTA House of Delegates in 2024 states that Physical Therapists are now the practitioners of choice for patients with vestibular disorders. We will discuss the role of Physical Therapists as practitioners of choice to diagnose, rehabilitate, and manage persons with disorders of vestibular function in acute care and the Emergency Department. We will utilize a case study approach discussion to establish standard of care being provided using current evidence based clinical practice guidelines. During the presentation we will give a brief overview of how the program got started and how it has improved over recent years, including the continued education of medicine staff, and our recently developed expedited continued-care program in our outpatient balance clinics. During the presentation, we will also present the relevant literature regarding benefits of early physical therapy evaluation and intervention in acute care and the ED regarding vestibular disorders. This will be followed by an outline on how we treat and manage the most common vestibular diagnoses including BPPV and vestibular hypofunctions. We will present two case studies with break-out sessions followed by a question and answer session.