Combined rehabilitation shows promise for dizziness with anxiety
Trials reported improvements in dizziness-related disability and distress, while variable methods and risk of bias limit confidence in the findings.
Based on the published abstract. The full paper may contain additional methods, results and limitations.
The 30-second takeaway
For adults whose dizziness occurred alongside significant anxiety, vestibular rehabilitation was associated with modest improvements in dizziness-related disability. Programs incorporating cognitive or psychological components had more consistent reported improvements, and cognitive behavioral approaches also reduced anxiety or distress. However, the abstract does not provide numerical comparative effects or establish that a particular combination is best.
Most trials had potential bias, and reviewers rated the evidence from very low to moderate certainty. This abstract-based summary lacks treatment lengths and effect estimates needed to judge durability or practical size.
What was combined
The review considered rehabilitation aimed at dizziness alongside cognitive behavioral or psychologically informed approaches. Combined programs addressed both disability and unhelpful dizziness-related beliefs, extending the assessment beyond anxiety symptoms alone.
Why newer approaches remain uncertain
Virtual-reality rehabilitation, non-invasive neuromodulation and heart-rate-variability biofeedback had encouraging signals. Their evidence was limited by small samples and methodological problems, so the abstract supports further evaluation rather than a ranking of these options.
The original publication
Anxiety-Related Functional Dizziness: A Systematic Review of the Recent Evidence on Vestibular, Cognitive Behavioral, and Integrative Therapies.
Ferlito R, Cannistrà F, Giunta S et al.
Life (Basel) · 2026
- PubMed ID
- 41598313
- Record checked
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