Vibrotactile Feedback During Vestibular Therapy

University of Pittsburgh

Status: Completed

Conditions: Vestibular Disease

Treatments: Other: Vibrotactile Feedback

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other; NIH

Identifiers

NCT02867683

5R21DC012410 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

PRO13020399

Details and patient eligibility

About

This study evaluates the use of vibrotactile feedback to traditional vestibular treatment protocols. Half the patients will have vibrotactile feedback added to their treatment protocols while the other half will undergo traditional vestibular treatment without vibrotactile feedback.

Full description

Vestibular and balance rehabilitation is an effective way to improve balance for individuals with balance impairments by using the strategies of adaptation, habituation, or substitution. Typical vestibular treatment is usually 3 sessions per week for 6 weeks. For people with uncompensated unilateral vestibular hypofunction or bilateral vestibular loss, recovery/adaptation is often incomplete and chronic balance impairments result.

Vibrotactile feedback (VTF) is a strategy of substitution, or augmentation, to replace disrupted or absent vestibular function. The sensory information replaces disrupted or absent vestibular function to give persons additional signals about their body position in space. Real-time VTF applied to the trunk has been shown to decrease postural sway but the long-term benefits of training with VTF on balance and function have not been examined.

Enrollment: 27 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 21 to 80 years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• unilateral peripheral vestibular hypofunction
• bilateral peripheral vestibular hypofunction

Exclusion criteria

• confounding neurologic or neuromuscular disorders
• pregnancy
• inability to stand for 3 minutes
• recent lower extremity fracture/severe sprain within the last 6 months
• previous lower extremity joint replacement
• incapacitating back or lower extremity pain
• body too large for equipment

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

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27 participants in 2 patient groups

Vibrotactile Feedback

Experimental group

Description:

Balance exercises completed while vibration was applied to the trunk (anterior, posterior, right, and left) if postural sway exceeded a pre-determined threshold during the exercise.

Treatment:

Other: Vibrotactile Feedback

Without Vibrotactile Feedback

No Intervention group

Description:

Balance training without feedback