We are independent & ad-supported. We may earn a commission for purchases made through our links.
Advertiser Disclosure
Our website is an independent, advertising-supported platform. We provide our content free of charge to our readers, and to keep it that way, we rely on revenue generated through advertisements and affiliate partnerships. This means that when you click on certain links on our site and make a purchase, we may earn a commission. Learn more.
How We Make Money
We sustain our operations through affiliate commissions and advertising. If you click on an affiliate link and make a purchase, we may receive a commission from the merchant at no additional cost to you. We also display advertisements on our website, which help generate revenue to support our work and keep our content free for readers. Our editorial team operates independently of our advertising and affiliate partnerships to ensure that our content remains unbiased and focused on providing you with the best information and recommendations based on thorough research and honest evaluations. To remain transparent, we’ve provided a list of our current affiliate partners here.
Procedures

Our Promise to you

Founded in 2002, our company has been a trusted resource for readers seeking informative and engaging content. Our dedication to quality remains unwavering—and will never change. We follow a strict editorial policy, ensuring that our content is authored by highly qualified professionals and edited by subject matter experts. This guarantees that everything we publish is objective, accurate, and trustworthy.

Over the years, we've refined our approach to cover a wide range of topics, providing readers with reliable and practical advice to enhance their knowledge and skills. That's why millions of readers turn to us each year. Join us in celebrating the joy of learning, guided by standards you can trust.

What Is Dynamic Posturography?

By Rebecca Harkin
Updated: Mar 03, 2024
Views: 6,876
Share

The assessment of posture control in a changing environment is called dynamic posturography. Balance is maintained through the combined input from the sense of touch through the feet and legs, vision, and the vestibular system, composed of the balance sensing structures in the ear. When one or all of these systems is disrupted, the result is dizziness, instability, and a tendency to fall. Dynamic posturography evaluates these problems, typically using computerized dynamic posturography (CDP), and develops a therapy program aimed at correcting these issues.

Dynamic posturography is used for any patient suffering from dizziness. Before this treatment is prescribed, the dizziness should have been present for more than one year, the cause should be unknown, it should impair or limit walking and standing, or the dizziness should be exacerbated by anxiety over falling. Many clinical studies have shown that dynamic posturography that utilizes CDP and CDP-focused therapy improves dizziness and the instability associated with it.

The three areas tested during dynamic posturography are sensory organization, motor control, and adaptation. During the sensory organization test, the patient’s ability to use and discard sensory information is tested to determine if a patient can use sensory information effectively or performs incorrect adaptive responses. The motor control test evaluates the ability and speed with which a patient can recover stability after a quick or sudden change. An adaptation test checks how a patient controls his sway when confronted by an unpredictable tilt forwards or backward. The reaction of the patient during these tests is the foundation for therapy to improve balance and stability in the needed areas.

Computerized dynamic posturography is the most widely used diagnostic tool for dynamic posturography. For a CDP evaluation, the patient stands facing inward inside a movable, open-backed enclosure painted with a simple scene to help orient the patient. The foot plate underneath the patient rotates and moves side to side. A life-jacket type harness is placed on the patient and is tethered to supports so that, if balance is lost, the subject will never fall. During an exam, choreographed movements of the enclosure and the footplate challenge the patient’s stability and eliciting a physical reaction.

The patient’s physical movements in response to changes in the footplate and enclosure are recorded during the CDP exam. These recorded movements are later analyzed to evaluate the patient’s balance control. Therapy is designed based on these results. Periodically during the therapy sessions, the patient will be retested on the CDP machine to determine if the balance control is improving or if the therapy needs to be changed. Once performance on the CDP improves to a certain level, the therapy will be stopped.

Share
The Health Board is dedicated to providing accurate and trustworthy information. We carefully select reputable sources and employ a rigorous fact-checking process to maintain the highest standards. To learn more about our commitment to accuracy, read our editorial process.
Discussion Comments
Share
https://www.thehealthboard.com/what-is-dynamic-posturography.htm
Copy this link
The Health Board, in your inbox

Our latest articles, guides, and more, delivered daily.

The Health Board, in your inbox

Our latest articles, guides, and more, delivered daily.