Effects of Whole Body Vibration on Motor Impairments in Patients with Neurological Disorders: A Systematic Review.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: This systematic review was conducted to examine the effects of whole body vibration (WBV) training on motor impairments among patients with neurological disorders, and to investigate which the whole body vibration training parameters induced improvement in motor impairments. DESIGN: PubMed, SCOPUS, PEDro, REHABDATA, and web of science were searched for randomized controlled trials and Pseudo- randomized controlled trials investigated the effect of WBV on motor impairments in patients with neurological disorders. The methodological quality was rated using the Cochrane Collaboration’s tool RESULTS: Twenty studies were included in this systematic review. Four studies included patients with multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy (n=2), stroke (n=9), Parkinson’s disease (n=3), spinal cord injuries (n=1), and spino-cerebellar ataxia (n=1). The results showed different evidence of benefits and non-benefits for WBV training in motor impairments outcomes. CONCLUSION: There is weak evidence for a positive effect of short-term WBV training on spasticity of lower extremities, mobility, balance and postural control. Besides, positive effect of the long-term effect of WBV training on mobility in patients with neurological disorders. The optimal WBV training parameters in treating patients with neurological disorders remain unclear.