Scientific evidence of vestibular rehabilitation in primary health care : a systematic review Evidências científicas da reabilitação vestibular na atenção primária à saúde : uma revisão sistemática

Purpose: Investigate in the literature the effectiveness of treatments used for vestibular rehabilitation (VR) in PHC. Research strategy: The search of publications on VR in PHC was carried out in electronic databases MEDLINE (access by PubMed), PEDro and Web of Science. Selection criteria: Controlled clinical trials were selected in English, Spanish and Portuguese. The methodological quality of the studies was evaluated using the PEDro scale. The analysis of the results was examined through a critical review of the contents. Results: Five studies were reviewed in their entirety, with the participants’ age group being equal to or older than 18 years (n = 5). The Vertigo Symptom Scale and (60%) and Visual Analog Scale (40%) were the instruments used to evaluate the subjective perception of the symptomatology of vestibular dysfunction. The PEDro Scale revealed that two articles presented a good quality design for conducting the experimental study. The most used intervention proposal was the Yardley Exercises (60%). Conclusion: Controlled studies provide evidence of positive effects of VR on PHC, with improvements in postural control, functional capacity and quality of life of participants.