What is Romberg Test: Purpose, Procedure & Types Explained

Equilibrium is vital for maintaining postural balance and coordination. However, some people find it challenging to maintain their senses while balancing. For this, healthcare practitioners use a Romberg test for measuring the importance of balance in an individual.

Do you struggle to maintain a balance while standing up or walking? Then, find out all about a Romberg test by reading till the end of this article!

A Romberg test is generally used in healthcare settings to detect problems with your balance in terms of your visual, vestibular (inner ear), and proprioceptive (positional sense) senses. In addition, it is a neurological examination that assesses your spinal cord's dorsal column. This column has the role of maintaining your proprioception sense of body movement and position.

Apart from checking the spinal capabilities of individuals, this test is also used in law enforcement offices to check if a person is under the influence of alcohol. Unfortunately, this can also lead to a loss of balance while walking or standing. The procedure of a Romberg test is as follows:

• It starts with the examiner asking you to remove your shoes and stand on a hard and flat surface.
• You can cross your arms in front or keep them on your sides.
• The examiner will ask you to stand still and keep your eyes open for about 30 seconds.
• Next, you will stand still for another 30 seconds while closing your eyes.

The test is quick and straightforward. The examiner mainly observes your body movement and ability to balance. They will not allow any physical support during the test. However, if you take this test as a law enforcement officer, you may not have to remove your shoes or close your eyes in the process.

Now that you know what the Romberg test is, you might be thinking about the variants of this test. Generally, this test is conducted in two different ways in healthcare centres, as described below.

• Sharpened Romberg Test: This test is mainly used for older people with a risk of falling due to age or other neurological disorders. For this, the healthcare practitioners encourage a different foot position for the patients. They ask them to place one foot in front of the other. This way, the front foot's heel touches the toes of the back foot. The examiner will ask you to switch feet and repeat the process to check your balance.
• Single-leg Romberg Test: This type of test is more commonly used in a healthcare setting and law enforcement offices. However, this is not prescribed for people at risk of falling. In this, the examiner asks you to stand on one leg and then switch your feet. It enables them to observe your posture and check your balance.

If you are wondering about how you can prepare for a Romberg test, there is not much to prepare. However, if you are dizzy and have balance problems, you should consider having someone escort you to the examination centre. Moreover, you should make sure that the examiner removes any objects nearby while testing your balance to avoid causing any harm to you in the process.

Once you complete the test, reading the Romberg sign becomes essential. The report reads either as positive or negative. If you receive a positive Romberg test report, it indicates you might have fallen or lost balance during the test. In addition, you might have problems with your sensory system, vestibular system or proprioceptive system. Moreover, a positive Romberg test indicates you might have other issues, including the following.

• Vitamin deficiency
• Metabolic disorder
• Hyperzincemia
• Parkinson’s disease
• Wernicke’s syndrome
• Friedreich ataxia
• Ménière’s disease
• Central or peripheral vertigo

On the other hand, if you get a negative report for the Romberg balance test, you hardly have any balance problems. You are stable both with open and closed eyes. In this case, even if you have vestibular or proprioceptive symptoms, these are not related to postural balance.

As you have guessed already, a Romberg test is suitable for people who face balance issues or other vestibular or proprioceptive symptoms. Generally, people dealing with the following conditions should take this test.

• Imbalance and uncoordinated movement
• Dizziness
• Frequent falls
• Signs of intoxication
• Ataxia (loss of muscle control)
• Head injury

Therefore, as you can see, a Romberg test can be vital for checking if you have any issues with your balance. In addition, it is a fast and simple test and does not even require you to visit a healthcare setting. The test can take about one minute, and you will receive accurate reports based on the examiner’s observations.