What is posturography?
Posturography is a test that measures and assesses a patient’s ability to balance using platforms that record the displacement of body pressures and the vertical projection of the center of gravity.
What does posturography consist of?
The platform records the patient’s movements and the displacement of the center of pressures. The results obtained are then calculated in relation to the movement parameters that characterize equilibrium. If there is a greater displacement of the center of gravity, it means that the patient has poor postural control, i.e. he/she has a balance problem, which implies a greater risk of falling.
Why is posturography performed?
It is basically performed for two types of patients:
- Those who present symptoms of vertigo or imbalance but have not been clearly diagnosed with physical and clinical examination.
- Those who have a known cause but it is necessary to know how the problem affects their daily life.
What does it feel like during the examination?
The patient stands in an upright posture on the platform, with heels together and toes slightly apart, forming an angle of about 30 degrees, and with arms outstretched. It is important for the patient to be relaxed and to remain in complete silence, as there should be no stimuli that may alter balance. The specialist will ask the patient to make different movements to record them.
Meaning of abnormal posturography results
This test diagnoses balance problems, whether of nervous, visual or sensory origin. The main diseases associated with imbalance are:
- Vertigo
- Ménière’s disease
- Labrynthitis (infection and/or inflammation of the inner ear)
- Vestibular neuronitis (infection of the vestibular nerve of the inner ear)
- Perilymph fistula (leakage of fluid from the inner ear to the middle ear)
- Parkinson’s
- Arthritis
- Visual impairment
- Back or neck pain
- Cerebellum problems