Stabilometry in balance assessment of dizzy and normal subjects

Normal adults and patients referred to the Dizzy Clinic at the Medical College of Ohio had their standing balance assessed during combinations of normal and altered visual and somatosensory orientation conditions using a fixed-force platform to measure center-of-pressure translations. Significant differences were identified between normal subjects and dizzy patients, depending on the particular diagnostic category, the sensory condition tested, and the particular sway component being measured. Patients with central and peripheral vestibular dysfunctions had significantly greater sway than all other categories in most test conditions, especially with eyes closed and with a visual conflict dome while standing on a foam surface. The central vestibular dysfunction and peripheral vestibular dysfunction groups could be differentiated statistically under eyes-closed and visual conflict-foam conditions. The normal and psychogenic groups could not be differentiated statistically for any test conditions except one: there was significantly greater mean anterior/posterior sway displacement in the psychogenic group compared with all other diagnostic categories for the eyes-open foam test condition. Our results indicate that static stabilometry recordings of postural sway can be used to evaluate and quantify a dizzy patient's ability to receive and process vestibular, visual, and somatosensory-proprioceptive cues for postural stability. It can also be used to monitor patients with vestibular disorders and to document their responses to rehabilitation programs.