Powervibe is the Pro-Fit Head of the Class for 2011
High-frequency whole-body vibration improves balancing ability in elderly women.
Submitted by jameskusachi on Wed, 01/13/2010 - 06:03
To investigate the efficacy of high-frequency whole-body vibration (WBV) on balancing ability in elderly women.
Methods:
DESIGN: Randomized controlled trial. Subjects were randomized to either the WBV intervention or the no-treatment control group.
SETTING: Community-living elderly women.
PARTICIPANTS: Sixty-nine elderly women aged 60 or above without habitual exercise.
INTERVENTION: Side alternating WBV at 20Hz with 3 minutes a day and 3 days a week for 3 months in the WBV intervention group. Those in control group remained sedentary with normal daily life for the whole study period.
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Limits of stability in terms of reaction time, movement velocity, directional control, endpoint excursion, maximum excursion, and the functional reach test were performed at baseline and endpoint.
Results:
Significant enhancement of stability was detected in movement velocity (P<.01), maximum point excursion (P<.01), in directional control (P<.05).
Conclusions:
WBV was effective in improving the balancing ability in elderly women. This also provides evidence to support our user-friendly WBV treatment protocol of 3 minutes a day for the elderly to maintain their balancing ability and reduce risks of fall.
Reference:
Cheung W.H., Mok H.W., Qin L., Sze P.C., Lee K.M. & Leung K.S. (2007). High-frequency whole-body vibration improves balancing ability in elderly women. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. 88(7). 852-857.