Effect of a local vibration stimulus training programme on postural sway and gait in chronic stroke patients: a randomized controlled trial

Objective: To investigate the effect of a local vibration stimulus training programme on postural sway and gait in stroke patients. Design: A randomized controlled trial with two groups: a local vibration stimulus training programme group and a sham group. Setting: Inpatient rehabilitation centre. Subjects: Thirty-one chronic stroke patients. Interventions: Both groups underwent a standard rehabilitation programme. The local vibration stimulus training programme group (n = 16) participated in the local vibration stimulus training programme for 30 minutes a day, five times a week, for six weeks. The sham group (n = 15) participated in a sham local vibration stimulus training programme for 30 minutes a day, five times a week, for six weeks. Main measures: A forceplate was used to measure postural sway under two conditions: standing with eyes open and eyes closed. Gait ability was measured using the GAITRite system. Results: In postural sway, greater improvements in the postural sway distance with eyes-open (–11.91 vs. 0.80) and eyes-closed (–20.67 vs. –0.34) conditions and postural sway velocity with eyes-open (–0.40 vs. 0.03) and eyes-closed (–0.69 vs. –0.01) conditions were observed in the local vibration stimulus training programme group, compared with the sham group (P < 0.05). In gait ability, greater improvement in gait speed (15.06 vs. 2.85), cadence (8.46 vs. 1.55), step length (7.90 vs. 3.64), and single limb support time (0.12 vs. 0.01) were observed in the local vibration stimulus training programme group, compared with the sham group (P < 0.05). Conclusions: These findings suggest that local vibration stimulus training programme is an effective method for improvement of the postural sway and gait ability of chronic stroke patients.