Despite its proven efficacy, access and referrals to vestibular physiotherapy remain limited. OBJECTIVE: Our primary aim was to characterise the demographic, clinical, and healthcare utilisation profiles of patients attending private vestibular physiotherapy clinics in Spain.
Audiologists and ENT teams should proactively refer eligible patients with vestibular disorders to vestibular physiotherapy, as referral rates remain low despite established efficacy evidence.
Characterizing the under-referral gap for vestibular physiotherapy in Spain highlights a systemic care pathway deficiency that, if addressed, could improve outcomes for patients with chronic dizziness and balance disorders.
- 01Cross-sectional study described the patient profile at private vestibular physiotherapy clinics in Spain.
- 02Referrals to vestibular physiotherapy remain low despite evidence supporting its efficacy.
- 03Most patients attending were likely self-referred or referred late in their care pathway.
- 04Study highlights a gap between evidence-based guidelines and real-world clinical referral practice.
- 05Published in Physiotherapy (DOI: 10.1016/j.physio.2026.102335).
Referrals to vestibular physiotherapy remain limited despite its proven efficacy.
studypartially supported- PMID
- 42430866
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.physio.2026.102335.
- Journal
- Physiotherapy
- Publication type
- research_article
- Evidence level
- 4
- Population
- Patients attending private vestibular physiotherapy clinics in Spain
- Intervention
- Vestibular physiotherapy (description of service users)
Primary outcomes
Demographic and clinical profile of vestibular physiotherapy clinic attendees; Referral patterns to vestibular physiotherapy