Dominant foot could affect the postural control in vestibular neuritis perceived by dynamic body balance

During attacks of vestibular neuritis (VN), patients typically lose postural balance, with resultant postural inclination, gait deviation toward the lesion side, and tendency to fall. In this study, we examined and analyzed static and dynamic postural control during attacks of VN to characterize differences in postural control between right and left VN. Subjects were patients diagnosed with VN at the Department of Otolaryngology, Toho University Sakura Medical Center, and underwent in-patient treatment. Twenty-five patients who had spontaneous nystagmus were assessed within 3 days after the onset; all were right-foot dominant. Right VN was detected in nine patients (men: 4, women: 5; mean age: 57.6 ± 17.08 years [range: 23-82]) and left VN in 16 patients (men: 10, women: 6; mean age: 58.4 ± 14.08 years [range: 23-85 years]); the percentages of canal paresis of right and left VN were 86.88 ± 18.1% and 86.02 ± 15.0%, respectively. Statistical comparisons were conducted using the independent t-test. In stabilometry, with eyes opened, no significant differences were found between patients with right and left VN. However, with eyes closed, the center of horizontal movement significantly shifted ipsilateral (p < 0.01). The differences in the lateral and anteroposterior body tracking test (BTT) were statistically significant (p = 0.0039 and p = 0.0376, respectively), with greater changes in cases with right VN. Thus, the dominant foot might contribute to the postural control mechanism.