Researchers find vestibular dysfunction stems from injury to the peripheral vestibular system

By Minhong Kim. This article was initially published in our Concussion Update newsletter; please consider subscribing.

A study by Dr. Anna Gard et al., published in the Journal of Neurotrauma, explored the cause of vestibular impairment in athletes who sustained sports-related concussions (SRC) and continued to have persistent post-concussion symptoms. The researchers aimed to “establish whether vestibular dysfunction … is of central, peripheral, or combined origin.” They found that vestibular dysfunction is associated with peripheral vestibular system injury.

 The vestibular system is responsible for communicating spatial information, such as head and body position. Damage to the vestibular system can lead to symptoms like dizziness and vertigo that worsen outcomes and lengthen recovery. 

Gard et al. recruited 21 controls and 21 athletes with previous SRCs who experienced persistent post-concussion symptoms for greater than six months; “Vestibular dysfunction was present in three of 21 controls and 13 of 21 athletes with SRC.” Participants received imaging scans, filled out symptom evaluation forms, and underwent vestibular test batteries. 

“The main finding was that athletes with SRC had a peripheral vestibular deficit, specifically dysfunction of the inferior vestibular nerve, whereas there was no difference in cerebellar gray and white matter as evaluated by 7T MRI.”

However, further research is needed before the study’s findings can be generalized to a broader concussion population. In addition to the small sample size of 42, the studied population was a small subset of concussion patients: athletes with SRCs who had experienced persistent post-concussive symptoms for greater than six months.