Body stance influences the visual vertical perception in patients with vestibular disorders

Abstract

To describe the visual vertical perception ability during dynamic optokinetic stimulations, 10 visual dependent patients (VD) and 10 patients with unilateral vestibular hypo-areflexia (HPA), completed the Rolf Jacob (RJ) questionnaire and performed the rod and disk test (RDT: Seated and Erected: S-E). RJ: HPA were significantly less sensitive than VD to phobia and the visual criteria (p<0.05). RDT: in erected stance, when the disk and the rod were orientated in the same direction, VD observed less vertical deviation than HPA (p<0.05). All RDT criteria showed only a significant deviation decrease in erected stance for VD (p<0.05). HPA patients did not compensate visual vertical perception deficit when erected. Rehabilitation with physical activity interventions could lead to improved proprioceptive responses and faster compensation.