Article

Injury to the central nervous system often results in impairments that negatively
affect walking function. Prior evidence suggests that vibration may improve
walking function. The purpose of this study was to determine whether repeated use
of whole-body vibration (WBV) is associated with improvements in walking function
in individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI). Subjects were 17 individuals with
chronic (> or = 1 year), motor-incomplete SCI. Subjects were tested before and
after participation in a 12-session (3 days/week for 4 weeks) intervention of
WBV. We assessed change in walking function via 3D motion capture, with walking
speed as the primary outcome measure. We also assessed the influence of the WBV
intervention on secondary gait characteristics, including cadence, step length,
and hip-knee intralimb coordination. Walking speed increased by a mean of
0.062+/-0.011 m/s, a change that was statistically significant (p<0.001). The WBV
intervention was also associated with statistically significant increases in
cadence, and both the stronger and weaker legs exhibited increased step length
and improved consistency of intralimb coordination.
Changes in cadence and step
length of the stronger leg were strongly correlated with improvements in walking
speed. The improvement in walking speed observed with the WBV intervention was
comparable to that reported in the literature in association with locomotor
training. This magnitude of change has been identified as being clinically
meaningful, even in non-clinical populations. These findings suggest WBV may be
useful to improve walking function with effects that may persist for some time
following the intervention.

Langue : ANGLAIS