Effectiveness of whole-body vibration on improving balance in athletes with chronic ankle instability

Context: Chronic ankle instability is a condition that can occur after multiple ankle injuries, or one severe ankle injury, and can affect balance, proprioception, and walking mechanics. Improving balance can be helpful in rehabilitating those with chronic ankle instability. Whole-body vibration treatment (WBV), vibration delivered at a specific amplitude and frequency through a platform that the patient is standing on, has been used to help increase neuromuscular control and proprioception in lower extremity injury rehabilitation but very little is known about WBV’s effect on balance. Balance in athletes with CAI has been seen to improve with balance training but there is little research on the effects of using WBV in this population.

Clinical Question: Does Whole-Body Vibration treatment effectively improve balance in athletes with Chronic ankle Instability more than balance training

Summary of Key Findings: The following databases were used to search terms of Chronic Ankle Instability (CAI), whole-body vibration treatment (WBV), CAI and Athlete, CAI and WBV(PubMed, EBSCOHost, and SPORTSDiscus.) Only peer-reviewed studies that were randomized control trials that were published within the last 5 years were included. Of the two studies included, both found that whole-body vibration treatment did not improve balance when compared to balance programs.

Clinical Bottom Line: There is moderate evidence that indicates that WBV does help improve balance but does not improve balance more than a balance training in athletes with CAI. While recent, there is limited research on this topic at this time.

Strength of recommendation: B