Galileo Research Facts No. 102: Can Galileo Therapy improve balance in Fibromyalgia patients?

This study investigated the effects of Galileo Therapy on balance in Fibromyalgia patients (chronic muscle pain). The Galileo group as well as the control group received standard therapy while the Galileo Group received additional Galileo Therapy 3 times per week over a period of 12 weeks. The Galileo application was performed standing with 45° bent legs at 12.5Hz. The used exercise movement was quite interesting and innovative: The individuals had to balance on their left forefoot and the right heel and had to change this every few seconds to the opposite.

While the control group decreased balance ability in most of the tests by up to 20% the Galileo group improved in all tests by up to 47%. The effects could have been even higher if frequencies below 10Hz where used, where the stretch reflex is not dominant any more (#GIS1) and therefore balance and proprioceptive tasks are much harder.

Furthermore, the Galileo Wobble mode (random/stochastic variation of the frequency) could have been used to further increase difficulty of the balance task – using the Wobble mode at low frequencies one legged (pos. 0) with eyes closes is demanding even for well-trained individuals.

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