Body balance in elderly patients, 12 months after treatment for BPPV

Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo is highly prevalent in the elderly population, triggering major changes in body balance. OBJECTIVE: To compare the results obtained from static posturography in the elderly before and after otoliths repositioning maneuvers and 12 months after treatment onset. Design: longitudinal, descriptive and analytical study. METHOD: Elderly patients with clinical diagnosis of BPPV submitted to Balance Rehabilitation Unit static posturography in 10 sensory conditions at three time intervals: before and after the repositioning maneuver and12 months after the treatment. RESULTS: We studied 23 subjects with a mean age of 68.74 years. Posturography revealed that the stability limit was not significantly different when the three time intervals were compared (p = 0.405). The center of pressure (CoP) showed a significant change in condition 2 (stable surface and closed eyes), because after the repositioning maneuver, the CoP significantly differed vis-à-vis the results before and 12 months after the treatment (p = 0.003). The values of body velocity sway (BVS) were significantly different in six sensory conditions in these three time intervals. CONCLUSION: 12 months after the treatment for BPPV, the static posturography showed balance abnormalities similar to those found before treatment.