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If My Symptoms Persist After Traditional Therapy, Am I Stuck With Them?

If you’ve already tried “traditional therapy” (physical therapy, rest, medications, standard rehab, general exercises) but symptoms are still lingering, it’s easy to feel like you’re out of options.

The encouraging reality is this:

Persistent symptoms usually mean the nervous system hasn’t fully recalibrated yet—not that you’re permanently stuck.

Many “stuck” cases are actually treatable when care becomes more specific: identifying which brain-body networks are underperforming (or over-firing), then applying targeted, personalized rehabilitation.

That’s the core of Functional Neurology: a clinical model focused on measurable function (not just imaging) and individualized brain-based rehab.

Why Symptoms Can Persist After “Doing Everything Right”

Traditional care is essential for ruling out emergencies and stabilizing an acute injury. But lingering symptoms after concussion, dizziness, vestibular disorders, or dysautonomia often involve network-level dysfunction that standard protocols may not fully address—especially when rehab isn’t matched to the patient’s exact deficit profile.

Common persistent symptoms include:

Dizziness, vertigo, imbalance, “rocking/swaying”
Visual motion sensitivity (stores, scrolling, busy environments)
Brain fog, slowed processing, cognitive fatigue
Headaches/migraines
Neck pain + dizziness combination
Light/sound sensitivity
Exercise intolerance, orthostatic symptoms (POTS/dysautonomia patterns)
Anxiety spikes related to sensory overload

Research consistently shows that vestibular and oculomotor impairments are common after concussion and correlate with prolonged recovery when they’re missed or under-treated.

“Nothing Shows on Imaging” Doesn’t Mean “Nothing Is Wrong”

CT/MRI are great for identifying bleeding, fractures, tumors, major structural lesions. But many persistent symptoms are tied to:

Vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) dysfunction
Visual-vestibular mismatch
Sensory integration problems
Autonomic imbalance
Subthreshold exertion intolerance
Central compensation that never fully completes

These are functional problems—often detectable on exam (eye tracking, VOR, balance testing, exertion testing), even when imaging is normal.

What Functional Neurology Does Differently: Personalized Brain Rehab

Functional Neurology is not “random exercises.” It’s a targeted, exam-driven rehab strategy that uses specific inputs (vestibular, visual, proprioceptive, cognitive, autonomic, exertional) to drive neuroplastic change.

In chiropractic neurology, clinicians who hold the DACNB credential have demonstrated competency in chiropractic neurology through board certification standards.

Importantly, the broader rehab literature strongly supports the principle that individualized, symptom-guided, multi-domain rehab improves outcomes in the very symptom clusters that keep people stuck—especially dizziness, visual-vestibular dysfunction, concussion, and autonomic intolerance.

The Research Supports Targeted Rehab for the “Stuck” Profiles

1) Persistent dizziness & complex vestibular problems improve with vestibular rehab

Vestibular rehabilitation is an exercise-based approach designed to promote central compensation and reduce dizziness/imbalance.
Systematic reviews and clinical studies show vestibular rehab can reduce concussion-related dizziness symptoms, though protocols vary.

Key point: When dizziness persists, the solution is often more specific vestibular targeting, not just more time.

2) Personalized vestibular rehab after concussion shows stronger effects than generic approaches

A randomized controlled trial in adolescents found that an individualized (precision) vestibular rehabilitation approach after concussion produced larger effects in vestibular-ocular outcomes versus control care.

That aligns directly with a functional neurology concept:
Match the exercise to the impaired system (VOR, saccades, pursuit, visual motion sensitivity), and dosage it correctly.

3) Cervicovestibular rehab can help when dizziness + neck pain + headaches persist

A well-cited randomized trial found that combining cervical spine therapy with vestibular rehabilitation can shorten time to medical clearance in sport-related concussion.
More recent RCT work in adults with persistent post-mTBI symptoms also supports cervicovestibular rehab approaches.

Clinical takeaway: If neck dysfunction is feeding vestibular symptoms, treating “inner ear exercises only” may be incomplete.

4) Visual-vestibular dysfunction responds to vision + balance/vestibular integration rehab

Visual processing and eye movement control are foundational for balance and spatial orientation. Reviews in neuro-rehab highlight that combining neuro-optometric rehabilitation with balance/vestibular therapy can reduce dizziness and visual-vestibular symptoms in appropriately selected patients.

This is why scrolling, grocery stores, driving, and busy environments can be so provocative—and why targeted visual-vestibular rehab can be a game-changer.

5) Autonomic symptoms (POTS/dysautonomia patterns) improve with the right exercise progression

Exercise training is widely recognized as a first-line non-pharmacologic strategy for POTS, and studies show symptom improvement with appropriately structured endurance/resistance programs.

The nuance: many patients fail generic programs because they need:

horizontal-to-upright progression,
symptom-guided intensity,
and individualized pacing to avoid flare cycles.

That “right dose, right progression” mindset is exactly what personalized brain-based rehab aims to deliver.

Where DACNB Clinicians Fit In

DACNB clinicians (board-certified chiropractic neurologists) commonly evaluate and treat these persistent patterns using exam-driven, individualized rehab plans, especially in concussion, vestibular disorders, complex dizziness, and autonomic-related symptom profiles.

There are also published case reports and case series describing “functional neurology” style multimodal rehab approaches in persistent post-concussion presentations (important early literature, but not the same level of evidence as large RCTs).

Bottom line: The strongest overall support comes from the broader rehabilitation evidence base showing that targeted vestibular/oculomotor rehab + graded aerobic exercise + cervicovestibular care (when indicated) improves the exact symptom clusters that persist after “standard care.”

What “Personalized Brain Rehab” Often Includes

Depending on exam findings, a program may include:

Vestibular (inner ear + central processing)

gaze stabilization (VOR) training
habituation for motion sensitivity
balance integration and dual-task work

Visual-vestibular integration

saccade/pursuit training
optokinetic exposure when indicated
visual motion desensitization + postural control

Concussion-specific exertion rehab

symptom-limited, progressive aerobic exercise
careful parameters based on tolerance and recovery pattern

Cervicogenic drivers (neck + headaches + dizziness)

cervicovestibular rehab when exam points there

Autonomic regulation & orthostatic intolerance

structured exercise progression (often starting recumbent)
pacing strategies to reduce flare cycles

Are You Stuck With Your Symptoms?

Usually, no. But you may be stuck in the wrong treatment match.

If symptoms persist after traditional therapy, it often means:

the driver of symptoms wasn’t fully identified (vestibular vs visual-vestibular vs cervicogenic vs autonomic vs exertional), or
the rehab wasn’t specific enough, progressed correctly, or dosed to your nervous system.