Abstract Summary
Chiari type I malformations (Chiari I) are congenital deformities characterized by migration of the cerebellar tonsils through the foramen magnum. The condition is associated with headaches, chronic fatigue syndrome, orthostatic intolerance, and other neurologic syndromes. Despite patients’ describing difficulties with gait and balance, to date there have been no biomechanical studies examining postural stability in this cohort of patients. A postural stability parameter known as the Hurst exponent was examined in 15 Chiari patients during quiet upright stance, with feet together and eyes open. A method of average wavelet coefficient decomposition was used to examine fluctuations in center-of-pressure data. The results showed significant postural impairments (p=0.04) when compared with control subjects, reinforcing qualitative reports of postural instability in Chiari patients.
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