Effects of whole body vibration training on gait in parkinson’s disease and chronic stroke hemiplegia: A comparative study

Abstract

[Purpose] This study investigated the effects of single whole body vibration (WBV) training on the gait parameters of Parkinson’s disease (PD), cerebrovascular accident (CVA), and motor disorder (MD) patients. [Subjects] The subjects were 10 PD, 10 CVA, and 10 MD patients. [Methods] Single WBV of 50 Hz was administered for minute to all of the subjects. Subjects’ 10m gait time before and after the WBV training was measured, and walking speed, step length and cadence were calculated. [Results] After the intervention, the PD and CVA groups showed a significant walking speed improvement compared to the MD group. The PD and CVA groups also showed gait parameter improvements. [Conclusion] The results suggest the effect of WBV training on gait improvement differs with the disease.