A terapia por vibração do corpo inteiro promove melhora do equilíbrio na doença de Parkinson

Balance disorders are a major problem in Parkinson's disease (PD). The whole body vibration has benefits on the balance in healthy people, but it has imprecise effectiveness in PD. The aim of this study was to verify the effects of whole body vibration on balance in patients with PD and to predict the ideal number of participants from the effects size. Twelve participants with PD were randomly divided into intervention and placebo groups. Participants in the intervention group underwent whole body vibration and the subjects had their balance assessed prior therapy, immediately and five minutes after the session. The control group underwent a placebo intervention and the subjects had their balance assessed on the same periods. Both groups had their eyes closed during the intervention protocol. The variables assessed were body displacement, area and velocity of body displacement. The effect size of the intervention was analysed under univariate and multivariate analyses. Significance was set at 5%. With respect to the results, the whole body vibration was inefficient in improving balance immediately and five minutes after the session. The analysis that presented the strongest effect size occurred when balance was assessed under a multivariate basis, predicting the need of 46 participants. In conclusion, the results were imprecise as to the effects of whole body vibration on the balance in patients with PD. Studies with a sample size higher than 46 participants should be carried out to further address this topic.