Comparison of the Effectiveness of Whole Body Vibration in Stroke Patients: A Meta-Analysis

Abstract

Objectives The goals of this study were to assess the effectiveness of WBV (whole body vibration) training through an analysis of effect sizes, identify advantages of WBV training, and suggest other effective treatment methods. Methods Four databases, namely, EMBASE, PubMed, EBSCO, and Web of Science, were used to collect articles on vibration. Keywords such as “vibration” and “stroke” were used in the search for published articles. Consequently, eleven studies were selected in the second screening using meta-analyses. Results The total effect size of patients with dementia in the studies was 0.25, which was small. The effect size of spasticity was the greatest at 1.24 (high), followed by metabolism at 0.99 (high), balance, muscle strength, gait, and circulation in the decreasing order of effect size. Conclusions The effect sizes for muscle strength and balance and gait function, all of which play an important role in performance of daily activities, were small. In contrast, effect sizes for bone metabolism and spasticity were moderate. This suggests that WBV training may provide a safe, alternative treatment method for improving the symptoms of stroke in patients.

Putting the “Sensory” Into Sensorimotor Control: The Role of Sensorimotor Integration in Goal-Directed Hand Movements After Stroke

“…Both focal (Celletti et al, 2017) and whole-body vibration (Boo et al, 2016) have shown promise in improving upper extremity function in individuals with stroke. However, across studies, the effectiveness of vibration to improve post-stroke motor function remains unclear (Liao et al, 2014; Park et al, 2018).…”

Efficacy of Controlled Whole-Body Vibration Training on Improving Fall Risk Factors in Stroke Survivors: A Meta-analysis

“…[14][15][16] CWBV has been applied to people with stroke; however, the conclusion regarding the effects of CWBV in reducing the risk of falls among this population is mixed. [17][18][19][20][21][22] For example, a meta-analysis found no effect of CWBV on functional performance in stroke patients (effect size [ES]: 0.15 and P = .30 for knee strength; 0.23 and P = .74 for body balance, and 50.40 and P = .14 for gait performance). 18 Another meta-analysis reported varied ES of CWBV training in improving body balance (ES: 0.08, P = .91), muscle strength (0.23, P = .36), and mobility (0.45, P = .33) in stroke.…”

“…21 A later meta-analysis in stroke survivors documented mild to moderate ES of CWBV on body balance (ES: 0.28) and knee strength (0.16) in favor of CWBV. 19 Given that CWBV is becoming an increasingly popular therapeutic modality, 10 learning more about the overall effects of CWBV is highly relevant and meaningful to the rehabilitation field.…”

“…Several factors could lead to biases in meta-analysis results and contribute to the inconsistency in findings among prior studies. 18,19,21 First, some of the previous meta-analyses included a very small number (2-4) of studies. 18,21 Second, the calculation of the ES in previous publications was based on the difference in the posttraining outcome measure between groups.…”

Clinical Approaches of Whole-Body Vibration Exercises in Individuals with Stroke: A Narrative Revision

“…As a relatively simple and low skill demand mode of physical activity, WBVE has primarily been used in athletic [ 13 , 14 ] and aged [ 15 , 16 ] cohorts to improve outcomes such as muscular strength and power [ 17 , 18 ] and reduce sedentary time [ 13 ]. Moreover, as a mode of physical activity, WBVE has been identified as a feasible intervention with little to no adverse events [ 19 , 20 ]. WBVE has progressively been applied with beneficial outcomes to various clinical populations including stroke [ 7 , 21 ], obesity [ 22 ], rheumatoid arthritis [ 23 ], diabetes [ 24 ], spinal cord injury [ 25 ], chronic kidney disease [ 26 ], fibromyalgia [ 27 , 28 ], multiple sclerosis [ 29 ], cerebral palsy [ 30 , 31 ], Duchenne muscular dystrophy [ 32 ], osteogenesis imperfecta [ 33 ], osteoarthritis [ 34 ], and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease [ 35 ].…”