Immediate effects of whole body vibration on gait and balance of Parkinson's disease patients

Abstract

[Purpose] This study was conducted to clarify the immediate effects of Whole-body vibration (WBV) training on gait disturbance and balance of patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). [Subjects] Subjects were 14 patients with PD in our hospital who were able to walk. [Method] We measured 10m walking time, the Timed Up and Go test (TUG) and static standing balance before and after carrying out the 25Hz WBV training with three sets of exercise for 2 min, with 2-min rest between sets in the standing position. Evaluation of static standing balance was carried out through the path length of the center of the gravity (LNG) and the rectangular area surrounding the path (REC) which was recorded using a force plate. [Result] 10m walking time and TUG significantly improved after WBV training. LNG and REC also improved significantly. [Conclusion] These results indicate that WBV training might have immediate effects on gait disturbance and stand up and turn of patients with PD.