Differentiation of balance deficits through examination of selected components of static stabilometry

Stabilometry, which measures the body's center of pressure (COP) movements, during relaxed standing, has been used to distinguish individuals with vestibular and neurologic dysfunctions from normal subjects. The purpose of this study was to determine whether mathematical differences in the magnitudes of the COP obtained from six somatosensory testing conditions could be used to discriminate between different types of balance deficits. Stabilometry measures, using a fixed force platform, were obtained from normal (N = 52) and dizzy (N = 149), peripheral vestibular dysfunction (PVD), post-concussion syndrome (PCS), psychogenic (PSG), and unknown/undetermined etiology (UNK). The data significantly differentiated CVD, PVD and PSG patients from normals and between some of the dizzy groups: CVD versus PVD, PCS; and PSG versus CVD, PVD, PCS and UNK. The measures of anterior-posterior COP movements provided the greatest discrimination.