ReviewJournal of vestibular research : equilibrium & orientation2026
Effectiveness of vestibular physical therapy on balance and dizziness in people with multiple sclerosis: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Review in Journal of vestibular research : equilibrium & orientation, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a chronic, inflammatory, and degenerative disease of the central nervous system. Balance impairments are very common symptoms among people with MS (PwMS). Vestibular physical therapy (VPT) is an evidence-based approach aimed at managing and improving gaze and balance stability, which could be used to mitigate balance disorders in MS. The objective of this systematic review with meta-analysis is to evaluate the effects of VPT in managing balance and dizziness in PwMS.Electronic databases were searched in February 2025 (PubMed, Scopus and Cochrane) and screened by two blind reviewers. Risk of Bias was assessed using PEDro Scale. A meta-analysis was conducted to evaluate, across multiple studies, the effect sizes for two clinical outcomes: the Dizziness Handicap Inventory (DHI) and the Activities-specific Balance Confidence Scale (ABC).After screening, 16 articles were included in the review, mostly comparing VPT with other conventional approaches. Analysis of the Risk of bias showed quality deficiencies in these studied with respect to the blinding of participants, assessor and physiotherapist. The meta-analysis showed significant efficacy of VPT against control using the DHI as outcome measure (Hedges' g = 1.451, CI [0.190, 2.713]).In conclusion, VPT is a safe approach in reducing dizziness-related disability of PwMS. Further studies are needed to refine assessment methods and explore individualized approaches.
Indexed as
Identifiers
42084487What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.