VOR Training FAQ

VOR stands for Vestibulo-Ocular Reflex. It's a reflex that stabilizes images on your retina during head movement by producing eye movements in the opposite direction of head movement.

This exercise helps improve your VOR by challenging you to keep your eyes fixed on a target while moving your head. Regular practice can enhance your ability to maintain visual stability during head movements.

For best results, try to do this exercise for a few minutes each day. Start with shorter durations and gradually increase as you get more comfortable.

The exercise SHOULD induce a mild level of dizziness. However, this dizziness should subside within 20 minutes after completing the exercise. If the dizziness persists beyond 20 minutes, it indicates that the exercise intensity was too high. On the other hand, if the exercise doesn't induce any dizziness at all, it may be too easy and you should consider increasing the difficulty.

If you have known vestibular issues, it's best to consult with your healthcare provider or a vestibular therapist before starting this or any new exercise regimen.

The changing colors and words serve two purposes: 1) They provide a visually engaging target for your eyes to focus on, and 2) They add a cognitive element to the exercise, challenging your brain to process information while performing the VOR task.

Moving your head to the beat of the metronome helps you maintain a consistent speed and rhythm. This is important for standardizing the exercise and progressively challenging your VOR system as you increase the beats per minute.

Improvement can be noticed in several ways: 1) You'll be able to maintain focus on the target more easily, 2) You may be able to increase the BPM without losing accuracy, 3) Your scores in the challenge mode will likely improve over time, and 4) You might notice improved stability in your vision during everyday head movements.

While this exercise is not specifically designed to treat motion sickness, improving your VOR can potentially help reduce symptoms of motion sickness for some people. The VOR plays a role in maintaining balance and stable vision, which are factors in motion sickness. However, if you suffer from severe motion sickness, it's best to consult with a healthcare professional.

Yes, there are a few precautions to keep in mind: 1) Start slowly and gradually increase the difficulty, 2) If you experience severe dizziness, nausea, or headache, stop the exercise immediately, 3) Ensure you're in a safe environment where you won't fall or bump into objects while moving your head, 4) Take breaks if you feel fatigued, and 5) If you have any pre-existing neck or vestibular conditions, consult with a healthcare professional before starting this exercise.

Yes, this VOR exercise is a form of vestibular rehabilitation. It's designed to improve the function of your vestibular system, which is responsible for balance and spatial orientation. By challenging your vestibulo-ocular reflex, this exercise can help strengthen the connection between your eyes, inner ear, and brain.

Many people find that regular VOR exercises can help reduce feelings of dizziness, especially dizziness related to head movements. This is because the exercise helps train your brain to process visual and vestibular information more effectively. However, if you're experiencing severe or persistent dizziness, it's important to consult with a healthcare professional.

This exercise can improve balance by enhancing the coordination between your visual system and your vestibular system. As you practice maintaining visual focus while moving your head, you're training your brain to process conflicting sensory information more effectively. This can translate to better balance and stability in everyday activities.

Gaze stabilization refers to the ability to maintain visual focus on a target while your head is moving. This VOR exercise is essentially a gaze stabilization exercise. By challenging you to keep your eyes fixed on a changing target while moving your head, it directly trains and improves your gaze stabilization ability.

This online VOR exercise offers several advantages compared to traditional vestibular therapy tools. It's easily accessible from home, provides immediate feedback through the scoring system, and can be adjusted in difficulty to match your progress. However, it's important to note that while this can be a valuable tool, it's not a replacement for professional vestibular therapy if that's what you need.

Yes, this exercise can help improve your dynamic visual acuity, which is your ability to discern details of a moving object or to maintain clear vision while you're moving. By challenging you to read changing words while moving your head, this exercise directly trains your dynamic visual acuity.

Yes, this can be considered an oculomotor exercise. Oculomotor exercises are designed to improve control and coordination of eye movements. This VOR exercise specifically targets the oculomotor system's ability to maintain gaze on a fixed target while the head is moving, which is a crucial function of the oculomotor system.