Dynamic posture assessment in patients with peripheral vestibulopathy

OBJECTIVE
To assess the effects on balance of different strategies to create sensory conflict.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
Two different systems of dynamic posturography were compared: computerized dynamic posturography and a static platform on which different visual and support conditions were used. The study was performed in 127 patients with dizziness of a peripheral vestibular origin.

RESULTS
When patients stood on a foam support surface, the length and area of the center-of-pressure excursions increased. Interestingly, optokinetic stimulation evoked a longer length and a wider area of the center-of-pressure excursions in patients with a combined vestibular and visual deficit pattern than when they kept their eyes closed. This was opposite to the effect observed in patients with a pattern indicative of a vestibular deficit alone.

CONCLUSION
The effects of visual stimulation on balance in patients with unilateral vestibulopathy reflect the type of sensory deficit, and can be considered to be specific to such a deficit.

CITA DEL ARTÍCULO  Acta Otolaryngol. 2004 Aug;124(6):700-5