Romberg's test

The Romberg's test (also Romberg test) is a neurological process for the study of disorders of balance in cerebellar, spinal or vestibular level. It was named after the German doctor Moritz Heinrich Romberg.

In the test, the person is prompted with feet together standing to stand upright and then to infer a second command, the eyes. Often the test is combined with a derivative action of the search, in which the two arms are stretched out forward. In addition, even slight relapses can be given in all directions from the doctor to check to what extent the patient can compensate for this.

The test is positive ( positive Romberg 's sign), if a farce or a tendency to fall occurs with eyes closed or if an existing already with open eyes Schwank or falling tendency is reinforced. This is the case for so-called sensitive ataxia, thus affecting the posterior funiculus (for example, a spinal disease, such as the funicular myelosis (vitamin B12 deficiency ) ). Positive can fail even after drinking the test. In a cerebellar involvement, ie a cerebellar ataxia, any existing tendency to fall is not enhanced by closing the eyes, the Romberg's test is therefore negative. With a tendency to fall in one direction this indicates a failure of depth perception or to a disturbance of the vestibular system.