The effect of whole body vibration and somatosensory training on the balance of healthy elderly men

The somatosensory system plays an important role in balance control and its age-related declines have been implicated in falls incidence. By stimulation of proprioceptive receptors, whole body vibration (WBV) and somatosensory (textured-surface) training can play an important role in improving balance. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of WBV and somatosensory training on the balance of healthy elderly men. The study population included 30 healthy men 60 to 80-year old resident in Mashhad city. They were randomly assigned into three groups: WBV training (n=10), somatosensory training (n=10), and control (n=10). The experimental groups practiced their specific protocols for 8 weeks, 3 sessions a week. The vibration group practiced based on the overload principle with the intensity of vibration frequencies of 30–35 Hz with 5-8 mm amplitude. The somatosensory group practiced walking patterns on the textured surface. The balance of the participants was assessed using the limit of stability of the BIODEX device. Dependent t-test, ANOVA and Tukey post-hoc test were applied in order to investigate intra- and inter-group analyses, respectively. Result showed that there was a significant difference between groups (p=0.001). Tukey test disclosed that in comparison of control group, WBV training (p=0.014) and somatosensory training (p=0.001) improved balance. Moreover, there was a significant difference between the pre- and post-test results of the WBV training (p=0.025) and somatosensory training (p=0.001) groups. Based on these results, eight weeks of WBV and somatosensory training improved balance and reduced their postural sway of male elderly.