Effects of Vibration Training on Stride Length and Gait Speed in Cerebral Palsy Patients: A Systematic Review

Abstract

The current systematic review examined the acute effects of whole-body vibration (WBV) for minimising the effects of CP on gait speed and stride length. Most studies and medical interventions use physiotherapy or low load strength training. Studies that have used vibration as an intervention for CP were collated, and a total of nine journal articles met the inclusion criteria. There were several differences found in vibration intervention protocols. On average, studies adopted sessions that were nine minutes in length, using 12-18 Hz and an amplitude of two to six millimetres. Using these acute training variables can improve adaptations for gait speed and stride length by 21.11% and 15.43%, respectively. Further, analysis has shown that although acute changes can occur, these may also be impacted by chronic adaptions. Vibration training can positively impact CP primarily through neurological adaptations, but further research is required to examine the effectiveness of different methods of vibration training on CP.