Romberg's Sign

ROMBERG'S SIGN (Romberg) is expressed by swaying of the trunk due to the inability to maintain body balance for a prolonged period. It is examined in the standing upright position with the feet brought together and arms hanging down; in the case of a positive R. s., slight or marked swaying of the entire body to the sides and backward may already appear in this position, which however significantly increases and becomes quite distinct when the subject closes their eyes. Therefore, R. s. is as a rule examined with the eyes closed. In doubtful cases, Oppenheim recommends having the patient, with eyes closed, bend forward and then straighten up, which noticeably intensifies the body's oscillations. R. s. is an expression of impaired static coordination of the body and is observed with lesions of various parts of the central nervous system that participate in maintaining body balance. Thus, R. s. is observed with impaired conductivity of deep sensation (damage to the posterior roots and posterior columns in tabes dorsalis), damage to the cerebellar (diseases of the cerebellum, multiple sclerosis) and vestibular systems, etc. However, slight body oscillations are often observed even in the absence of organic diseases of the nervous system, with phenomena of general instability of a constitutional or endogenous nature (neurasthenia, lability of the vasomotor apparatus, etc.).