The Effect of Whole Body Vibration Treatment on Balance and Gait in Patients with Stroke

INTRODUCTION: In patients with neurological disorders Whole Body Vibration (WBV) has been reported to improve motor function. Our aim was to assess the effects of WBV on both balance and walking performance in adult stroke patients. METHODS: Forty three post-stroke patients were randomly divided into two groups. One would receive WBV therapy (WBV group) while the control group would not. All patients participated in a conventional rehabilitation program for three weeks while the vibration group also received WBV over the same period. Patients balance and walking performance were evaluated using the Berg Balance Scale (BBS), Timed Up and Go Test (TUG) and computerized gait analysis. All evaluations were performed before and after therapy. RESULTS: The median (range) age of all patients was 51.00 (18-66) years. The groups numbered 26 and 17 patients for the WBV and control groups respectively. After intervention, significant improvements were found in the WBV group for BBS score (p=0.004), TUG score (p=0.035), step length (p=0.004) and walking speed (p=0.031) when compared to the controls. CONCLUSION: WBV is effective for the improvement of balance and gait performance in stroke patients.