A clinical single blind study to investigate the immediate effects of plantar vibration on balance in patients after stroke

A study on the immediate effects of plantar vibration on balance dysfunction in patients with stroke

“…A 1-point reduction in the median MMAS score suggests that the immediate antispastic effects of vibration applied to the plantar region have clinical importance. Improvement in spasticity level found in this study is consistent with those in the literature that concluded focal vibration could be used to reduce spasticity in neurological conditions ( Karimi-AhmadAbadi et al, 2017 ; Murillo et al, 2014 ). The reason why the direct application of vibratory stimulation to the plantar region reduced the spasticity of the plantarflexor muscles remains to be elucidated.…”

“…It remains to be investigated whether applying vibration to the plantar region for longer time duration or performing multiple treatment sessions may result in greater increases in ankle PROM. Improvement in ankle PROM obtained in this study that is consistent with Karimi-AhmadAbadi et al (2017) might be explained by spasticity reduction as well as an increase in tissue compliance ( Bae and Kim, 2012 ).…”

“…No effects were identified in the clinical balance tests of OLS, FRT, and TUG test ( Wanderley et al, 2011 ). Further, in a recent study in patients with stroke, the plantar vibration improved the balance in terms of Mini-BESTest scores ( Karimi-AhmadAbadi et al, 2017 ).…”

“…A case study to demonstrate the short-term effects of plantar vibration in a 72-year-old man with stroke reported beneficial effects on balance ( Naghdi et al, 2013 ). Recently, a study used clinical measure of Mini-Balance Evaluation Systems Test (Mini-BESTest) to investigate the effects of plantar vibration on balance in patients suffering from stroke and found improvements in balance, ankle plantar flexor spasticity, and ankle dorsiflexion passive range of motion (PROM) ( Karimi-AhmadAbadi et al, 2017 ).There are no further studies addressing the effects of plantar vibratory stimulation on balance control in patients poststroke ( Murillo et al, 2014 ). Therefore, the objective of the present study was to assess the effects of focal vibratory stimuli applied to the plantar region on the balance of patients after stroke.…”

The Contribution of Imaging and Functional Diagnosis to the Rehabilitation of Patients with Stroke

“…The lack of plantar proprioception may be a cause of failing to attain this desideratum [23], the stimulation of plantar proprioceptors and the toning of muscles are the expertise area of physical therapists. In this respect, experts may also use vibrations in order to improve balance by reducing spasticity at the level of the flexing muscles of talocrural joint [24]. Figure 5 illustrates the mean values of the speed of barycentre oscillations within the support polygon for the patients with a stroke in the superficial and deep area of the middle cerebral arter y.…”