Effectiveness of Focal Muscle Vibration in the Recovery of Neuromotor Hypofunction: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Adequate physical recovery after trauma, injury, disease, a long period of hypomobility, or simply ageing is a difficult goal because rehabilitation protocols are long-lasting and often cannot ensure complete motor recovery. Therefore, the optimisation of rehabilitation procedures is an important target to be achieved. The possibility of restoring motor functions by acting on proprioceptive signals by unspecific repetitive muscle vibration, focally applied on single muscles (RFV), instead of only training muscle function, is a new perspective, as suggested by the effects on the motor performance evidenced by healthy persons. The focal muscle vibration consists of micro-stretching-shortening sequences applied to individual muscles. By repeating such stimulation, an immediate and persistent increase in motility can be attained. This review aims to show whether this proprioceptive stimulation is useful for optimising the rehabilitative process in the presence of poor motor function. Papers reporting RFV effects have evidenced that the motor deficits can be counteracted by focal vibration leading to an early and quick complete recovery. The RFV efficacy has been observed in various clinical conditions. The motor improvements were immediate and obtained without loading the joints. The review suggests that these protocols can be considered a powerful new advantage to enhance traditional rehabilitation and achieve a more complete motor recovery.

Task-oriented training effect on promoting motor skills and daily physical activities in learners with musculoskeletal impairment

“…Training resulted in significant changes in spasticity and muscle strength in both groups. As a result, comprehensive rehabilitation has demonstrated efficacy in restoring physiological muscle tone and activating antagonist's muscles inclusion of methods for developing hand motor skills in the rehabilitation program enabled statistically significant dynamics (Brinlee, Dickenson, Hunter-Giordano, & Snyder-Mackler, 2022;Fattorini, Rodio, Filippi, & Pettorossi, 2023;Velnar, Spazzapan, Rodi, Kos, & Bosnjak, 2019). Many cerebral palsy children have disrupted movement rhythms and are unable to coordinate their movements to a given rhythm.…”

Effectiveness of Focal Muscle Vibrations in Improving Sensorimotor Performance, Mobility and Strength in Spinal Cord Injury Population: A Systematic Review

“…One emerging therapeutic modality that has received increasing interest in the past two decades is the application of vibrations, particularly focal muscle vibration (FMV), a non-invasive neuro-modulatory technique that may tap into the inherent potential of neuromuscular system for promoting functional recovery after neurological injury (such as SCI) or neurological disorders [5, 35,36, 37]. FMV involves the application of mechanical vibrations to specific muscle groups or tendons.…”