The Effect of Different Sensory Perturbations on Postural Control and Fall Risk in Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo Patients


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Temiçin Şahin E., Orhan E., Tutar V., Tutar H., Gündüz B.

AMERICAN JOURNAL OF AUDIOLOGY, vol.33, no.3, pp.874-881, 2024 (SCI-Expanded)

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 33 Issue: 3
  • Publication Date: 2024
  • Doi Number: 10.1044/2024_aja-23-00263
  • Journal Name: AMERICAN JOURNAL OF AUDIOLOGY
  • Journal Indexes: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, Academic Search Premier, CINAHL, EBSCO Education Source, Education Abstracts, EMBASE, Linguistics & Language Behavior Abstracts, MEDLINE, Psycinfo
  • Page Numbers: pp.874-881
  • Gazi University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

Background: Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) patients may experi-

ence balance problems in various environmental conditions other than positional


dizziness. Therefore, there is a need to investigate the postural control abilities

and the ability to use sensory inputs in BPPV patients in different conditions.


Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the postural control perfor-

mance of middle-aged adult BPPV patients in easy and difficult balance tasks,


the effect of vestibular stimulation on the maintenance of balance, and the risk

of falling, by posturographic evaluation in various conditions.

Method: A total of 26 patients diagnosed with posterior canal BPPV and 26

controls were included in the study. Sensory Organization Test (SOT), Vestibular


Stimulation Test (VST), and fall risk assessment (FRA) were applied to the par-

ticipants, respectively.


Results: Significant difference was observed in SOT medio-lateral (ML) plane in


Conditions 2 and 5 (p < .05). A significant difference was observed in the ves-

tibular score in the SOT ML plane. No significant difference was observed in


VST test scores (p > .05). In the FRA test, a significant difference was observed

in the energy and gain parameters in the anterio-posterior plane (p < .05).

Conclusions: The current study examined postural control abilities of patients

with BPPV in extensive external conditions and in both planes, using various

sensory perturbations and stimulation. It was thought that while BPPV patients

were in the active phase of the disease, their postural control skills in the ML

plane decreased and they might be at risk of falling.