Impact of whole body vibration on balance improvement in elderly women

Whole body vibration is a novel modality that has been proposed as a potentially useful adjunct to exercise to improve various aspects of musculoskeletal function. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of adding whole body vibration to a conventional exercise program to improve balance in elderly independently living women. A total of 40 elderly women, randomly divided into two equal groups (exercise and vibration versus exercise only) participated in an 8-week physiotherapy program for falls prevention. Participants in both groups performed the same exercise program twice per week. The participants in the vibration group also performed exercises on a vertical vibration platform set at a 27 Hz frequency and 3 mm amplitude. Standard tests to assess balance were performed before and after the intervention to monitor changes. Performance on all balance tests was significantly improved for both groups after the intervention (P < 0.05), however there were no significant differences in improvement between groups.