Vestibular Exercises May Improve Outcomes in Those with Intracerebral Hemorrhage

In a recent article study by Killedar and Kanase (2026), effects of vestibular stimulation exercises were analyzed in individuals with intracerebral hemorrhage. This study randomly assigned patients into two groups. The control group (n=18) was treated via traditional multisensory stimulation, while the test group (n=18) also received vestibular stimulation exercises (head and head-trunk movements, head-end inclination and declination positioning, rocking-based vestibular stimulation, wheelchair mobilization, gaze stabilization, eye movement exercises, and optokinetic visual stimulation). All participants received Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) and Full Outline of UnResponsiveness (FOUR) scores at baseline, seven days, and 14 days post-treatment initiation (Teasdale & Jennett, 1974; Wijdicks et al., 2005). Baseline GCS and FOUR scores were similar between groups prior to treatment. At days seven and 14, the experimental group showed significantly greater improvements in both the GCS and FOUR scores. This study suggests that incorporating vestibular-specific exercises might help improve outcomes in those with intracerebral hemorrhage.

References

Killedar M. and Kanase S. (2026) Effect of vestibular stimulation exercises on level of consciousness in patients with intracerebral hemorrhage. Cureus 18(6).

 Teasdale, G., & Jennett, B. (1974). Assessment of coma and impaired consciousness: A practical scale. The Lancet, 304(7872), 81–84.

Wijdicks, E. F. M., Bamlet, W. R., Maramattom, B. V., Manno, E. M., & McClelland, R. L. (2005). Validation of a new coma scale: The FOUR score. Annals of Neurology, 58(4), 585–593.