Changes in body balance and functional performance following whole-body vibration training in patients withfibromyalgia syndrome: a randomized controlled trial.

Abstract

Objective: To determine whether an 8-week exercise pro-gramme supplemented with whole-body vibration improves body balance and dynamic strength in women with fibro-myalgia. Design: Randomized controlled trial. Patients: Forty-six participants diagnosed with fibromyal-gia. Methods: Participants were randomly assigned to: (i) an exercise training group with whole-body vibration (n=15), which performed twice-weekly exercise sessions (aerobic ex-ercise, strengthening and flexibility) combined with 3 whole-body vibration training sessions a week (bilateral squats: 6–9 sets of 30 s with 45-s recovery between sets; and uni-lateral squat: 4–7 sets of 30 s, 30 Hz–4 mm); (ii) an exercise group (n=15) with the same combined exercise therapy; and (iii) a usual-care control group (n=16). Results: Statistically significant improvements in the Medio–Lateral Stability Index and Medio–Lateral Mean Deflection with open eyes were found in the whole-body vibration exer-cise group compared with the control group. Non-significant effects were found for lower-limb physical function. Conclusion: The results show that a traditional exercise pro-gramme, supplemented with whole-body vibration training, improved balance in women with fibromyalgia. This may represent a key factor for falls prevention in this patient group