Table 1. Selected studies with the sample size, study design, the age of the participants, the aim, assessment, findings, the level of evidence and the methodological quality.
| Studies | Sample size and population | Study design | Age (years old) | Aims | Assessment | Findings | LE | MQ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crevenna et al., 2016 | n=1 (male) with SUI after radical prostatectomy | Case report | 55 | To present a new form of WBV therapy on a therapeutic bed to treat the disabling and isolating symptom “incontinence” | The urine loss with pads/day | The patient regained continence within a time of 6 weeks after starting WBV therapy with an Evocell® device. The urine loss almost stopped completely | IV | Not applicable |
| Lee et al., 2016 | N=13 (7 males, 6 females healthy adults) | Cross-sectional study | Unclear | To investigate the EMG response of PFM to WBV while using different body posture and vibration frequencies | EMG activity PFM was recorded using an anal probe and the RPE was assessed with a modified Borg scale | The vibration frequency, body posture, and muscle stimulated had a significant effect on the EMG response. The PFM had high activation at 12 and 26 Hz (P<0.05) | III-2 | Not applicable |
| Farzinmehr et al., 2015 | 43 women with SUI | Randomized clinical trial | 36–68 | To determine whether WBV training is effective at improving PFM strength | PFM strength was assessed based on the Oxford Scale; quality of life by the I-QOL and the severity of incontinence by VAS | WBV training was effective in PFM strength similar to PFMT, reduced the severity of incontinence and increased I-QOL score. Significant differences were found in each group pre and post intervention (P=0.0001) | II | High |
| Stania et al., 2015 | 33 nulliparous continent women | Randomized clinical trial | 20–24 | To evaluate bioelectrical activity of the PFM during synchronous low and high-intensity WBV | Pelvic floor sEMG activity was recorded using a small diameter vaginal probe | A comparison of mean normalized amplitudes between 30, 60 and 90 s trials did not reveal significant differences in any on the groups | II | Fair |
| Luginbuehl et al., 2012 | 27 women (8 weeks to 1-year postpartum) and 23 women nulliparas or >1-year postpartum) | Randomized cross-over trial | 18–45 | To determine the optimal SR-WBV load modality regarding PFM activity in order to complete the SR-WBV training methodology for future PFMT with SR-WBV | The PFM activity were calculated for both SR-WBV modalities together (time effect) and for both SR-WBV modalities separately (modality-time interaction) | As there is no SR-WBV modality dependent difference regarding PFM activity, the continuous modality is recommended in clinical practice as it is easier to apply and less time consuming | III-1 | Poor |
| Lauper et al., 2009 | 23 healthy controls and 26 post-partum women with PFM weakness | Cross- sectional study |
18–40 | To determine if two different WBV, SV and SRV, using various intensities lead to a reactive activation of PFM | The PFM activity was measured by the EMG | Both WBV procedures were able to activate PFM significantly depending on vibration intensity. The SRV achieved a significantly higher activation than maximum voluntary contraction, especially in women post partum (6–12 Hz) | III-2 | Not applicable |
LE, level of evidence; MQ, methodological quality; SUI, stress urinary incontinence; WBV, whole body vibration; EMG, electromyogram; PFM, pelvic floor muscle; RPE, rating of perceived exertion; I-QOL, incontinence quality of life questionnaire; VAS, visual analog scale; PFMT, pelvic floor muscle training; sEMG, surface EMG; SR-WBV, stochastic whole body vibration; SV, sinusoidal vibration; SRV, stochastic resonance vibration.