HUMAN BALANCE EVALUATION IN SUBJECTS WITH CERVICAL INJURIES COMPARED TO HEALTHY SUBJECTS: RESULTS OF A PILOT STUDY

Introduction It is very important that forensic medicine properly calculates the biological damage not only through the disturbance indicated by the patient, but more accurately through instrumental diagnosis. Our aim was to verify through posturography the qualitative and quantitative alterations of postural stability in subjects with cervical trauma, compared to the control group. Methods We analysed 78 subjects, selecting 42 volunteers and distinguishing a control group of 22 normal men (NM) and a group of 20 men (WM) with a positive anamnesis of whiplash injury for six months. Through a force platform, we recorded the Centre of Pressure (CoP) movements of these groups, both with their eyes open, and closed. The data was used to compare between the two groups, with both open and closed eyes. Results During the closed eyes test, those subjects with cervical injuries, displayed a significant increase in anterior-posterior oscillation velocity (p<0.05) compared to the control group, with a significant reduction (p<0.01) of ratio between Shifting Length (SL) of CoP on the polygon support and total envelop area (EA, mm2) of CoP movements in the polygon support (SL/EA-ratio, mm-1). During the closed eyes test, subjects with cervical injury showed a significant anterior shifting of the mean position of CoP compared to the other group performing the open eyes test. Discussion Our results suggest that posturographic tests can be used to assess and confirm human body imbalance in subjects with whiplash injury. Further studies with more subjects from both sexes are necessary to confirm this pilot study. References Endo K, Suzuki H, Yamamoto K: Consciously postural sway and cervical vertigo after whiplash injury. Spine. 2008, 33(16):E539-42. Pomara F, Bianco A, Petrucci M, Vaccarino F, Bellafiore M, Battaglia G, Palma A: Whiplash injure and human body balance: a force platform analysis. Minerva Medicolegale 2010 Marzo;130(1):1-5. Sjostrom H, Allum JH, Carpenter MG, et al: Trunk sway measures of postural stability during clinical balance tests in patients with chronic whiplash injury symptoms. Spine 2003, 28:1725-34.