Effect of canalith repositioning on balance stability during walking in benign paroxysmal positional vertigo patients

Abstract

Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) is the most common form of peripheral vestibular disorder. The pathology of BPPV is caused by otoconia that falls into semicircular canals, particularly in posterior semicircular canals (PSC-BPPV). At present, treatment with canalith repositioning procedure (CRP) is considered as the most effective method to relieve the symptoms of BPPV. The purpose of this study was to compare the effect of CRP on balance during walking. A total of 32 PSC-BPPV patients with average age of 57.66 ± 15.65 years were randomly grouped into CRP group or control group. Dix-hallpike test and Functional gait assessment (FGA) were performed on day-1 and day-3 to follow up treatment results. The results showed that FGA score of CRP group was statistically significantly increased (P <0.05). CRP group has statistically significantly higher median difference of FGA scores relative to control (P < 0.05). The findings from this study demonstrated that CRP can improve balance during walking.