Effects of whole-body vibration on pulmonary function and handgrip strength in patients with spinal cord injury

a case series

Abstract

Objective: to evaluante the effects of whole body vibration (WBV) on the (RMS) and functional capacity of individuals with spinal cord trauma (TRM). Methods: this is a Case Series that evaluated four male patients named as participant 1 (P1), 2 (P2), 3 (P3) and 4 (P4). Sample with traumatic thoracic spinal cord injury was submitted to training with WBV using a vibrating platform (PV) and evaluated for its anthropometric characteristics. Before and after the training period, the RMS, handgrip strength (HGS) and perceived exertion and dyspnea were evaluated using the adapted Borg Scale. After training on the WBV, the degree of patient satisfaction was assessed using the Patients Global Impression of Change questionnaire. WBV was implemented in six separate training sessions over six weeks. Data presented in absolute or relative frequency to express the differences in outcomes obtained before and after the WBV training. Results: all evaluated patients presented a very easy classification in the perception of exertion before training with the WBV. After training, P2 and P3 rated it as easy, P4 rated it as relatively easy and P1 reported it as very easy. All had a score of 0 for the perception of dyspnea, before and after training. P1, P3 and P4 had higher RMS and FPP after training, and P2 had lower HGS. Each volunteer had a different perception about the degree of satisfaction with the use of VP, in general the patients indicated as having some improvement, being this almost the same, slightly better or moderately better. Conclusion: the WBV proved to be effective in increasing the RMS and the HGS, having an important contribution to the understanding of the dysfunctions presented by paraplegic patients.

Keywords: Vibration; Paraplegia; Strength; Rehabilitation.