| Sumario: | OBJECTIVE: To determine if differences exist in reported symptoms and in outcomes of sensorimotor tests (cervical joint position error [JPE], neck-influenced eye movement control, postural stability) between subjects with persistent whiplash and subjects with unilateral vestibular pathology associated with acoustic neuroma. DESIGN: Repeated measures, case controlled. SETTING: Tertiary institution and metropolitan hospital. PARTICIPANTS: Twenty subjects with persistent whiplash, 20 subjects with acoustic neuroma, and 20 control subjects. INTERVENTIONS: Not applicable. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Symptom descriptors, Dizziness Handicap Inventory (short form), measures of cervical JPE, the smooth pursuit neck torsion (SPNT) test, and forceplate measures of postural stability in comfortable and narrow stances. RESULTS: The results showed differences in SPNT (P=.00), selected measures of postural stability (P<.04), and reported symptoms between the whiplash and vestibular groups. There was no between-group difference in cervical JPE (P>.27) or dizziness handicap (P>.69). CONCLUSIONS: This study showed differences in sensorimotor disturbances between subjects with discreet whiplash and those with vestibular pathology associated with acoustic neuroma. The results support the SPNT test as a test of cervical afferent dysfunction. Further research into cervical JPE as a discreet test of cervical afferentation is warranted. Copyright © 2008 by the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine and the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
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