Table 1.

Application of whole body vibration therapy in chronic diseases: Protocol and results

Study	Chronic condition	Study design	Sample size	WBV protocol					Main results
				Frequency of vibration (Hz)	Amplitude of vibration (mm)	Duration of WBV exposure per day	Treatment days per week	Duration of program
Trans et al[69], 2009	Osteoarthritis	RCT	52	24-30	Not reported	3-5 min	2	8 wk	WBV exercise on a stable platform resulted in significantly more gain in isokinetic knee extension/flexion torque and isometric knee extension strength than controls; WBV training on a balance board resulted in significantly more improvement in knee proprioception than controls
Ahlborg et al[70], 2006	Cerebral palsy	RCT	14	25-40	Not reported	6 min	3	8 wk	No significant difference in ambulatory and gross motor function outcomes between the WBV group and resistance training group
Wunderer et al[71], 2010	Multiple sclerosis	Single subject experimental design	3	40	2	30 min	2	6 wk	WBV resulted in increase in knee extensor muscle strength in all three subjects; WBV resulted in improvement in functional mobility (Timed Up and Go test) in two subjects
van Nes et al[72], 2006	Stroke	RCT	53	30	3	4 min	5	6 wk	Gains in balance, mobility and activities of daily living were comparable to that in the conventional exercise group
Ebersbach et al[73], 2008	Parkinson’s disease	RCT	27	25	7-14	15 min/session, 2 sessions/d	5	3 wk	Gain in functional balance and gait velocity in WBV group was similar to those in the conventional physiotherapy group
Arias et al[74], 2009	Parkinson’s disease	Non-randomized controlled trial	21	6	Not reported	5 min	2-3	5 wk	Balance and mobility outcomes after WBV exercise were similar to those after control exercises without WBV
Baum et al[75], 2007	Type II diabetes	RCT	40	30-35	2	4 min	3	12 wk	No significant difference in maximal isometric torque of the quadriceps and fasting glucose concentration after treatment among the WBV group, the strength training group and the flexibility training group
Roth et al[76], 2008	Cystic fibrosis	Quasi-experimental (no control group)	11	12-26	7.8	6 min	3-5	6 mo	WBV resulted in no significant changes in the trabecular bone density of the tibia or spine; WBV induced an increase in explosive leg muscle strength
Rietschel et al[77], 2008	Cystic fibrosis	Quasi-experimental (no control group)	10	20-25	0.6	9 min/session, 2 sessions/d	5	3 mo	WBV induced significant improvement in performance in the chair-rising test and the two-leg jump test

RCT: Randomized controlled trial; WBV: Whole body vibration.