1. Cervico-ocular reflex upregulation in dizzy patients with asymmetric neck pathology.
- Author
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ZAMYSŁOWSKA-SZMYTKE, EWA, ADAMCZEWSKI, TOMASZ, ZIĄBER, JACEK, MAJAK, JOANNA, KUJAWA, JOLANTA, ŚLIWIŃSKA-KOWALSKA, MARIOLA, Zamysłowska-Szmytke, Ewa, Ziąber, Jacek, and Śliwińska-Kowalska, Mariola
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NECK , *VESTIBULO-ocular reflex , *NECK muscles , *PATHOLOGY , *VERTIGO , *REFLEXES , *H-reflex , *VISION - Abstract
Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate whether the restriction in neck rotation and increased neck muscle tension could be causally related to vertigo and dizziness.Material and Methods: Seventy-one patients reporting vertigo and/or imbalance were divided into 2 groups: 45 subjects with unilateral restriction (R+) and 26 without restriction (R-) of cervical rotation and muscle tension in the clinical flexion-rotation test. The normal caloric test was the inclusion criterion. The control group comprised 36 healthy volunteers with no history of vertigo. The vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) and the cervico-occular reflex (COR) were measured through the videonystagmography (VNG) sinusoidal pendular kinetic test in the conditions of not inactivated head and immobilized head, respectively. The VNG-head torsion test (VNG-HTT) nystagmus was recorded.Results: Among the reported complaints, neck stiffness, headaches and blurred vision were more frequent in the R+ group than in both the R- group and the control group. VNG revealed an increased COR gain and the presence of VNG-HTT nystagmus in the R+ group only. Similarly, only in the R+ group a positive relationship between COR and VOR was observed.Conclusions: Patients with asymmetric restriction in neck rotation and increased neck muscle tension reveal the tendency to have an increased response of the vestibular system, along with co-existing COR upregulation. Further research is needed to investigate the relationships between the activation of cervical mechanoreceptors and dizziness pathomechanisms. Int J Occup Med Environ Health. 2019;32(5):723-33. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]- Published
- 2019
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