Stabilization of the head position in pitch plane: study of an imbalanced population during a multi-segment posturography examin

Authors

Dr. med. Cristina S. Luzio (Lisbon, Portugal)
Dr. med. F. Vaz Garcia (Lisbon, Portugal)
Dr. med. Teresa Benzinho (Lisbon, Portugal)
Dr. med. V. Gabão Veiga (Lisbon, Portugal)

Proceedings

XXX Congress of the NES - Oporto - Portugal

Topics

Neurootology
Propioceptive
Diseases
Neurootology
Neurootology
Propioceptive
Neurootology
Propioceptive
Propioceptive tests

Keywords

Head stabilization, Head-trunk coordination, Multi-segments platform.

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Abstract

PURPOSE: to evaluate head stabilization in pitch plane in patients with different kinds of imbalance, when standing over firm and movable surfaces. MATERIAL: STATITEST multi-segments platform for recording and computing the postural adjustments at different body levels, detected by two captors placed on the head and hip, in four situations – eyes open and closed on firm and movable surfaces (EOFS, ECFS, EOMS, ECMS). A magnetic field, broadcasted by an antenna placed in front of the patient, is created for each recording. METHOD: Firstly, as the manufacturer did not provide the normal range limits for shoulders sway, we conduct a statistical analysis on a population and picked a sample of 31 normal individuals. Secondly, the experiment was performed in 91 patients, in two steps: standard examination and an assessment with captors on the head and shoulder. RESULTS: the following values of increased head/shoulder relationship were found: on EOFS – 6; ECFS -5; EOMS – 6; ECMS -11. We must point out the predominance of smaller head adjustments, expressing accurate head stability. However a little percentage shows increased head “pigeon-like sway”. Correlating these individuals with postural strategies, almost all of them adopted ankle strategies