Visual and vestibular involvement in postural deficits following concussion

Abstract

Postural assessment is often recommended as a component of postconcussion examination; however, a reliable, objective approach to identify and monitor the recovery of postural deficits is still needed. Degani et al. (Degani AM, Santos MM, Leonard CT, Rau TF, Patel SA, Mohapatra S, and Danna-Dos-Santos A. Brain Inj 31: 49–56, 2017) suggest that effects of concussion on postural control can be identified at the group level through spatiotemporal, frequency, and dynamic characteristics of balance. In contrast, Wright et al. (Wright WG, Tierney RT, and McDevitt J. J Vestib Res 27: 27–37, 2017) propose additional vestibular and oculomotor assessments to identify processing deficits that impair balance following concussion in individuals.