The Efficacy of Whole-Body Vibration in Managing Post-burn victims’ complications: A Systematic Review.

Abstract

Burn injury is a complicated traumatic event with both systemic and local consequences. These complications include long periods of bed rest, pain, muscle weakness, vitamin D deficiency and bone-mineral density loss. Whole body vibration demonstrated effectiveness in improving muscle power and bone-mineral density in various musculoskeletal populations. This systematic review of randomized controlled trials aims to assess evidence for the effectiveness of using whole-body vibration on post burn survivors with at least 1% total body surface area on sensory and motor outcomes. A systematic search was conducted across six databases i.e., PubMed, Cochrane, PEDro, Scopus, Web of Science and Google Scholar, from inception till March 2022. Retrieved studies were screened by title and abstract and full-text in two-stages using Rayyan web-based. Included studies were assessed for risk of bias using the Cochrane risk of bias tool ROB 2.0. Six RCTs with 203 participants were included. Five of the included studies demonstrated overall high risk of bias. Compared to conventional physiotherapy programs, whole-body vibration demonstrated improvement in functional mobility and balance using Timed Up and Go and Biodex balance assessment respectively. However, there were no differences between whole-body vibration and conventional physiotherapy program alone in bone mineral density and muscle power. Although the current evidence of whole-body vibration is limited, whole body vibration combined with traditional physical therapy programs may improve functional mobility and balance in post-burn survivors compared to physical therapy programs alone.