Evaluation of the treatment of vestibular disorders in children with computerized dynamic posturography: preliminary results

This study aimed at evaluating dynamic posturography as an evaluation method in children with balance problems due to peripheral vestibulopathy, before and after treatment with vestibular rehabilitation, establishing its correlation with classical clinical evaluation. Ten children (six boys and four girls) with vestibular symptoms of peripheral origin were evaluated through a complete clinical history and with dynamic computerized posturography after being treated by vestibular rehabilitation therapy. Posturographic data were analyzed and compared to standard clinical evaluation parameters. Dynamic posturography showed a significant improvement of condition 1 (orthostatic position, fixed support and open eyes) and 5 (orthostatic position, sway-referenced support and closed eyes) of the vestibular function and of the composite balance score. The data showed significant correlation with the clinical improvement observed. A significant reduction of proprioceptive influence was also observed. Data showed that the dynamic posturography adds important quantitative information to the conventional clinical evaluation of vestibular symptoms, especially in children.