Vestibular functioning and migraine: pilot study comparing those with and without vertigo

Background: The current study compared a migrainous vertigo group with a migraine without vertigo group. It was hypothesised that those with migrainous vertigo would have more abnormal test results during a non-migrainous period than those who suffer from migraine without vertigo. Methods: Both groups, comprising 10 participants each, were tested using: the gaze stabilisation test, dynamic visual acuity test, sensory organisation test, head shake sensory organisation test and functional gait assessment. Results: Eighteen females and 2 males aged 18-53 years participated. There were no significant differences between the two groups for the dynamic visual acuity test, sensory organisation test or head shake sensory organisation test. However, mean dynamic visual acuity loss was greater in both groups than in a normal population, and the head shake sensory organisation (sway) test was well below the normal mean. The functional gait assessment showed a significant difference (p=0.0025) between the two groups. Conclusion: Both groups showed abnormalities in vestibular functioning compared with norms, suggesting that both had some degree of vestibular dysfunction. However, vestibular dysfunction was greater in the migrainous vertigo group than in the migraine without vertigo group, as evidenced by differences in functional gait assessment.