Retrospective Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2021. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Cases. Aug 6, 2021; 9(22): 6268-6277
Published online Aug 6, 2021. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v9.i22.6268
Retrospective study of effect of whole-body vibration training on balance and walking function in stroke patients
Lei Xie, Shi-Xiong Yi, Qi-Feng Peng, Pei Liu, Heng Jiang
Lei Xie, Shi-Xiong Yi, Qi-Feng Peng, Pei Liu, Heng Jiang, Department of Rehabilitation, Chongqing Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, Chongqing 400021, China
Author contributions: Jiang H provided conceptualization and methodology and supervised the report; Xie L and Yi SY wrote and reviewed the paper; Liu P contributed to the analysis; Peng QF provided data curation.
Supported by Chongqing Science and Technology Bureau, No. cstc2019jxjl130023.
Institutional review board statement: This study was reviewed and approved by the Ethics Committee of the Chongqing Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital.
Informed consent statement: Patients were not required to give informed consent to the study because the analysis used anonymous clinical data that were obtained after each patient agreed to treatment by written consent.
Conflict-of-interest statement: We have no financial relationships to disclose.
Data sharing statement: No additional data are available.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Heng Jiang, MM, Associate Chief Physician, Department of Rehabilitation, Chongqing Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, No. 6 Seventh Branch Panxi Road, Jiangbei District, Chongqing 400021, China. 1933286638@qq.com
Received: April 7, 2021
Peer-review started: April 7, 2021
First decision: April 28, 2021
Revised: May 7, 2021
Accepted: May 24, 2021
Article in press: May 24, 2021
Published online: August 6, 2021
Processing time: 111 Days and 11.5 Hours
ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS
Research background

Dysfunction is a serious problem in stroke patients. Physical therapy is the most common treatment, which has some effect to regain strength, balance, and coordination. However, the effects of physical therapy have not yet met our wishes, so we are trying to find more effective treatments.

Research motivation

Kinds of physical means and brace therapy are important ways to improve function for stroke patients. However, it is well known that limb dysfunction in stroke patients is due to denervation, so we expected to find a treatment that could enhance neuromuscular reflex.

Research objectives

The aim of this study was 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. The plan of the WVT, such as the training time and vibration frequency, is worth further exploration.

Research 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 the 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 given. The treatment course of the two groups was 4 wk. Before and after treatment, the Berg balance scale, 3 m timed up-and-go test, the maximum walking speed test, and upper limb functional reaching test were performed.

Research results

After 4 wk of training in the WVT group, both Berg balance scale score and functional reaching distance increased more than that in the NWVT group. Meanwhile, the timed up-and-go test and the maximum walking speed test were improved after training, and the change in the WVT group was greater than that in the NWVT group. Although there were further improvements in these indicators mentioned above, most patients still did not fully return to normal.

Research conclusions

The WVT could be routinely used for stroke patients if they are able to complete the treatment program.

Research perspectives

To improve the limb function of stroke patients, we think that it is better to be treated by enhancing the neuromuscular reflex. There should be more basic research on neuromuscular reflex in the future.