COMPUTERIZED POSTUROGRAPHY

CAPS testing is extremely safe. When your balance is compromised, there is always a risk that you may fall during the testing. Because of this our technicians are always very close by, and stand ready to stabilize you if you begin to lose your balance. Our tests are designed to get progressively more difficult. They will always stop the testing progression if it is not safe for you to continue.

Balance requires proper function of the eyes, inner ear, and feedback from muscles and joints. If any of these receptors are damaged or degenerate, balance can become impaired. All of these receptors require neurological pathways to conduct their input into the brain. Damage or degeneration of any of these pathways can also lead to a balance deficit. They need to integrate in a number of central regions including the brainstem and cerebellum, as well as the parietal and insular cortices.

Damage or degeneration of any of these systems can likewise impair balance. Ultimately your brain uses its awareness of where it is in space to fire stabilization reflexes through the motor system. Any damage or degeneration involving motor stabilization pathways, or the higher brain systems that control them, can also lead to balance difficulties. Balance can become impaired in just about any neurological condition.

CAPS testing shows us how your center of pressure sways on the force plate as you attempt to hold still. It exports this as a graph of your ellipse of sway, which shows us what strategies you are using to maintain your balance. It gives you a Stability Score, which is based on normative data for your age. It categorizes your stability in terms of a range from healthy balance to profoundly reduced.

Our series of tests allow us to see how well you can make sense of feedback from your ankles, your eyes, and your inner ear. The different combinations of sensory inputs used in varied tests shows us not only how these systems work, but how well they work together. It lets us see where your sensory mismatches exist, and when your systems fatigue or fail. This shows us exactly what we need to do in order to get all of the different components of your balance system working again and working well together.

Yes, in most cases. While we cannot ever guarantee results, we are usually very successful with resolving complicated balance issues.

Our approach is significantly different from traditional balance therapy. Conventional rehab seeks to train your brain to compensate for problems in your visual, vestibular, and proprioceptive systems by exposing you to progressively harder balance challenges. Our approach is to first identify the specific visual, inner ear, and proprioceptive reflexes that are creating your balance problem, using our cutting-edge neurodiagnostic testing systems. We begin by rehabilitating the impaired reflexes directly, then get them working in concert with each other. Only then do we begin balance exercises. We find this approach to provide faster results, better outcomes, and more lasting improvement.