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Janet Odry Helminski, PhD; Imke Janssen, PhD; Despina Kotaspouikis, DPT; Karen Kovacs, MPT; Phil Sheldon, MPT; Kristin McQueen, MPT; Timothy Carl Hain, MD

Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2005;131:344-348.

Objective  To determine if a daily routine of Brandt-Daroff exercises increases the time to recurrence and reduces the rate of recurrence of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV).

Design  Random sample of convenience and retrospective case review.

Setting  Tertiary referral center and outpatient clinic.

Patients  One hundred sixteen patients diagnosed with BPPV involving the posterior semicircular canal (BPPV-PC) who were successfully treated with the canalith repositioning procedure.

Interventions  Patients in the treatment group (n = 43) performed daily Brandt-Daroff exercises, while patients in the no-treatment group (n = 73) performed no exercises.

Main Outcome Measures  Follow-up was as long as 2 years. Every 2 months patients were mailed a questionnaire. If BPPV had recurred, patients contacted the principal investigator within 24 hours. Within 1 to 2 weeks, patients were evaluated in the clinic with the Dix-Hallpike maneuver or, if unable to travel to the clinic, interviewed by telephone.

Results  Symptoms recurred in 50 (43%) of the 116 subjects, 34 (47%) of 73 in the no-treatment group and 16 (37%) of 43 in the treatment group. There was no significant difference in the frequency of recurrence (Pearson ², P = .33) or time to recurrence (survival analysis, log-rank test, P = .92). A history of recurrent BPPV-PC did not affect frequency of recurrence (Pearson ², P = .33) or time to recurrence (survival analysis, log-rank test, P = .72).

Conclusion  Our results suggest that a daily routine of Brandt-Daroff exercises does not significantly affect the time to recurrence or the rate of recurrence of BPPV-PC.

Author Affiliations: Department of Physical Therapy, Midwestern University, Downers Grove, Ill (Dr Helminski, Mss Kovacs and McQueen, and Mr Sheldon); Departments of Physical Therapy and Human Movement Performance (Drs Helminski, Kotaspouikis, and Hain), Otolaryngology (Dr Hain), and Neurology (Dr Hain), Northwestern University Medical School, Chicago, Ill; and Department of Preventive Medicine, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago (Dr Janssen).

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