Objectification of psychogenic postural instability by trunk sway analysis

Area of Science:

• Neurology
• Biomechanics
• Gait Analysis

Background:

• Diagnosing psychogenic balance and gait (PBG) disorders is challenging due to subjective clinical tests.
• Distraction maneuvers are often used but are prone to bias.
• Objective measures are needed to confirm PBG diagnoses.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of biomechanical balance analysis in identifying PBG disorders.
• To compare the response to distraction maneuvers in patients with suspected PBG, multiple sclerosis (MS), and healthy controls.

Main Methods:

• Quantified trunk inclination and body angular velocity under four stance conditions (eyes open/closed, firm/foam surface).
• Assessed distractibility of postural stability using ANOVA with repeated measures.
• Included 12 subjects with suspected PBG, 12 with MS, and 12 healthy controls.

Main Results:

• The PBG group exhibited significantly increased trunk inclination and angular velocity compared to MS and control groups.
• PBG patients demonstrated significant distractibility across all tested stance conditions.
• MS and control groups did not show comparable distractibility patterns.

Conclusions:

• Biomechanical balance analysis provides objective, quantifiable data for distraction maneuvers.
• This method can aid clinicians in confirming PBG diagnoses.
• Further large-scale prospective studies are recommended to validate these findings.