Retrospective study of effect of whole-body vibration training on balance and walking function in stroke patients

BACKGROUND Dysfunction in stroke patients has been a problem that we committed to solve and explore. Physical therapy has some effect to regain strength, balance, and coordination. However, it is not a complete cure, so we are trying to find more effective treatments. AIM To observe the effect of whole-body vibration training (WVT) on the recovery of balance and walking function in stroke patients, which could provide us some useful evidence for planning rehabilitation. METHODS The clinical data of 130 stroke participants who underwent conventional rehabilitation treatment in our hospital from January 2019 to August 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. The participants were divided into whole-body vibration training (WVT) group and non-WVT (NWVT) group according to whether they were given WVT. In the WVT group, routine rehabilitation therapy was combined with WVT by the Galileo Med L Plus vibration trainer at a frequency of 20 Hz and a vibration amplitude of 0+ACY-plusmn+ADs-5.2 mm, and in the NWVT group, routine rehabilitation therapy only was provided. The treatment course of the two groups was 4 wk. Before and after treatment, the Berg balance scale (BBS), 3 m timed up-and-go test (TUGT), the maximum walking speed test (MWS), and upper limb functional reaching (FR) test were performed. RESULTS After 4 wk training, in both groups, the BBS score and the FR distance respectively increased to a certain amount (WVT = 46.08 +/- 3.41 vs NWVT = 40.22 +/- 3.75; WVT = 20.48 +/- 2.23 vs NWVT = 16.60 +/- 2.82), with P < 0.05. Furthermore, in the WVT group, both BBS score and FR distance (BBS: 18.32 +/- 2.18; FR: 10.00 +/- 0.92) increased more than that in the NWVT group (BBS: 13.29 +/- 1.66; FR: 6.16 +/- 0.95), with P < 0.05. Meanwhile, in both groups, the TUGT and the MWS were improved after training (WVT = 32.64 +/- 3.81 vs NWVT = 39.56 +/- 3.68; WVT = 12.73 +/- 2.26 vs NWVT = 15.04 +/- 2.27, respectively), with P < 0.05. The change in the WVT group (TUGT: 17.49 +/- 1.88; MWS: 6.79 +/- 0.81) was greater than that in the NWVT group (TUGT: 10.76 +/- 1.42; MWS: 4.84 +/- 0.58), with P < 0.05. CONCLUSION The WVT could effectively improve the balance and walking function in stroke patients, which may be good for improving their quality of life.