Treatment of proprioceptive balance disorders: comparison between kinesistherapy and Hilterapia

Bodini G., Croce A. M.
Energy for Health [03], 2009

Proprioceptive vertigo disorders can be caused by several mechanisms, generally of muscle-tendon origin, able to induce an irritant stimulus on vestibular nuclei and on cervical sympathetic nervous system. Such disorders are often associated with pain and functional limitation of the cervical tract. Thirty subjects, subdivided in two groups, have been included in the study. One group was treated with kinesistherapy alone and the other group with kinesistherapy combined with Hilterapia^®. Treatment has been administered on a daily basis for the first week and every other day for the following 2 weeks, for a total of 10 sessions. All subjects have undergone a clinical-anamnestic evaluation before treatment (T0), at the end of the first week (T1), at the end of the therapy (T2), and one month later (T3). A computerised stabilometric test, with elaboration of the cervical interference index has also been taken at T0, T2 and T3 time points. Data on semi quantitative scale have been analysed using the Mann-Whitney non parametric test. Data on cervical interference have been analysed using the parametric Paired Samples T Test. With regards to the non parametric data, no significant variations between the two groups have emerged, However, both sets of data showed significant variations in the trend over time of the various parameters, within each group, with a more rapid improvement, in terms of pain and functional limitation, in those subjects undergoing a combined kinesistherapy and Hi|terapia^® treatment. With respect to the cervical interference index, a significant variation between T0 and T3 has been observed only in the combined treatment group. Hilterapia^® has been found to be an effective help to produce faster subjective improvements with kinesistherapy and more importantly, it has been demonstrated to improve proprioceptive balance disorders.