The vestibular system is a sensory system in our bodies housed in our inner ears that gives our brain information about our body’s movement. It detects movement through the labyrinth, which is composed of three semicircular canals located in our inner ears. Each canal is filled with fluid and when this fluid is displaced nerve signals are sent to the brain to inform us which direction the head was turned.
Semicircular Canal Functions
Each semicircular canal detects a specific movement of the head. The superior canal detects movement of the head up and down, like you are nodding “yes”. The posterior canal detects side to side movement of the head, like your ear is trying to touch each shoulder. The lateral canal detects a lateral movement like you are shaking your head “no”.
When your vestibular system is registering movement that your eyes are also perceiving in real time, everything works smoothly without adverse effects. This synchronicity between the vestibular system and the visual system allows us to move fluidly throughout our environment without feeling dizzy. This synchronicity is also referred to as the vestibulo-ocular reflex. This is one of many postural reflexes that should remain throughout a lifetime.
Treating Children with Vestibular Dysfunction
As an occupational therapist who specializes in gross motor development this is one of the primary reflexes I assess and treat, when appropriate. It is incredible how much these two sensory systems can impact a child’s progress in things like rolling, crawling, and walking.
Together the vestibular and visual sensory systems help a child perceive movement, explore their environment and move against gravity as they develop. If a child is not able to understand movement, movement becomes a scary concept which they will fight to avoid. A child may avoid sliding down a slide, or swinging on a swing. A child may hate to lie down on their back, or scream when you lift or move them too quickly. This may present in a variety of ways, but I have discovered that if the vestibular system is not functioning properly, primitive reflexes will often dominate a child’s movements against gravity.
When there is a disconnect between what the eye is perceiving and the body is feeling, it is likely you may see some of the following symptoms occurring in your child:
- car sickness
- motion sickness
- avoidance of swings and similar movements
- closing eyes or covering of the eyes when being moved too quickly
- clumsiness
- gross motor delays
- poor body awareness
- nystagmus
- poor tolerance for lying on the back
- anxiety and/ or fear with sudden movements
- poor visual tracking, especially below eye level
- turning of the head to visually focus rather than using central vision
- muscle tone issues
At Therahappy, we integrate occupational therapy a variety of tools to help children with vestibular rehabilitation. These include TheraSuit, spider cage, DMI therapy, primitive reflex integration, and more. To learn more about this service, please reach out or read more here.