Phobic postural vertigo treated with autogenic training: a case report

Abstract

Background: Patients suffering from dizziness due to vertigo are commonly encountered in the department of otolaryngology. If various clinical examinations do not reveal any objective findings, then the patients are referred to the department of internal medicine or psychiatry. In many cases, the diagnosis is psychological dizziness. Phobic postural vertigo, which was first reported by Brandt T et al in 1994, is supposed to be a type of psychological dizziness. The diagnosis is based on 6 characteristics proposed by Brandt et al. Patients are usually treated with conventional medical therapy, but some cases may be refractory to such a therapy. Psychotherapy is recommended in some cases; however, psychotherapy including autogenic training, which can be used for general relaxation, is not widely accepted. This paper describes the successful administration of autogenic training in a patient suffering from phobic postural vertigo.

Intractable depression successfully treated with a combination of autogenic training and high-dose antidepressant in department of otorhinolaryngology: a case report

“…AT has been widely applied as a relaxation technique and has been viewed as a highly effective method for controlling pain and reducing drug dependence substantially [ 3 ]. Recently AT was used to treat phobic postural vertigo in department of otorhinolaryngology [ 4 ].…”

Treatment of Persistent Postural-Perceptual Dizziness (PPPD)

“…Patients are taught to recognise dizziness once experienced and continue with their exercises under guidance. To promote further desensitisation of the high alert response, relaxation exercises such as diaphragmatic breathing or autogenic training have been used [5,31,54,55]. Anecdotal descriptions of desensitising stimuli in the literature include employing a large umbrella with stripes and spinning it in front of the patient whilst seated and later whilst standing for up to two minutes [54].…”

Psychogenic Vertigo

“…11,21 These therapies are useful in patients not showing improvement on conventional treatment or having persistent anxiety, insomnia or multiple somatic complaints. Cognitive behavior therapy can be used to correct faulty cognition like catastrophic thinking and develop positive coping skills.…”