Body balance at static posturography in vestibular migraine

Abstract

Introduction: Migraine is one of the most frequent and incapacitating headaches, with a high degree of impairment in quality of life. Its association with vestibular symptoms is common, including imbalance and postural instability. Objective: To evaluate the body balance of patients with vestibular migraine through a static posturography test. Methods: An experimental group of 31 patients with a medical diagnosis of vestibular migraine in the intercritical period of the disease, and a control group of 31 healthy individuals, matched for age and gender, were submitted to the eight sensory conditions of the Tetrax Interactive Balance System. The parameters analyzed were: stability index, which measures the amount of sway, global stability and ability to compensate postural modifications; weight distribution index, which compares deviations in weight distribution; synchronization index, which measures the symmetry in the weight distribution; postural sway frequency, which indicates the frequency range with more sway; and fall risk index, which expresses the probability of falls. Results: The stability index was higher in the experimental group in all eight sensory conditions, with a significant difference between the groups in six of them. The weight distribution index was higher in the experimental group in all conditions, with a significant difference in three of them. The number of cases with preferential sway in F2–F4 was significantly higher in the experimental group in three conditions, and in F5–F6 in two, while the fall risk was significantly higher in the experimental group than in the control group. Conclusion: Patients with vestibular migraine showed compromised body balance at the static posturography test.