Gaze Stabilization Exercises

Gaze stabilization exercises are often used to treat vestibular disorders that cause issues with your sight or dizziness when your head is moving. For the best effects, these simple exercises are usually performed daily, starting with the least trying on the eyes and moving upward in difficulty. Over time, your body should start to adjust to the movements, which can help treat visual disturbances and the sensation of dizziness when moving your head in "normal" situations.

Head Movement (Near)

• The first series of gaze stabilization exercises work mostly with the movement of your head, so fix your gaze on a stationary point directly in front of you. Pick a point that is right around a foot away. If you have a tendency to become dizzy, take a seat before performing any of these exercises.

  Once you've fixed your gaze, slowly turn your head about 45 degrees to the left and hold for two seconds. Bring your head back to center, and then turn your head about 45 degrees to the right. After holding this position for two seconds, return your head back to center. As you move your head left and right, make sure to keep your gaze fixed on the chosen point of focus. Since the repetition varies from person to person, you'll want to play around with the exact number to find what works for you.

  Keeping your gazed fixed on this same point, turn your head to the left, turn your head all the way to the right and then bring it back to center. This exercise is done without the two-second hold, moving the head from left to right on a continual basis. And much like the previous stabilization exercise, you need to play around with it to determine the number of repetitions.

  After you've performed the head turn without a pause, adjust the speed, turning your head in the same fashion but at a slightly faster rate. Again, play around with the repetitions to see what works for you. Now adjust the speed again, turning your head at a relatively fast rate.

Head Movement (Far)

• When you've completed a series of head movements with a fixed gaze at around a foot away, change the focal point to a stationary object that is farther away (around 3 feet). Once the point is chosen and your gaze is fixed, perform the same sequence of head turns as described in Section 1.

Focal Points

• Incorporate other sensory stimulation into the exercise. Try selecting something that is surrounded by activity, like a checkerboard, patterned wallpaper, grocery stores, shopping malls or any location with crowds of people, and do the left to right head turns at varying speeds. However, start out small (less stimulation) and work up from there.

Other Movements

• Since we rarely turn our heads in only a left-to-right (or right-to-left) fashion, incorporate other head movements into your exercise regimen, always fixing your gaze on a point in front of you. Try working up and down as well as rotations into stabilization training.

Positional Changes

• Another factor to incorporate into your gaze stabilization exercises is a positional change. As you become more and more accustomed to the head movements, try them on your feet, lying on your back and even lying on your side.