Effect of vibration therapy on upper limb function in stroke patients. A Systematic Review and Meta- Analysis

Aim of the study:To systematically review and to perform meta- analysis of all the available literature stating the effects of vibration therapy on the improvement of upper limb function in stroke.
This systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted to review all the available literature used vibration therapy to improve upper limb function following stroke.
Methods: A literature search conducted through Pub Med; Ovid articles published from 2000 onwards. To search the database, the following keywords were used: "vibration, "AND" upper limb function "AND" stroke" AND "rehabilitation." Articles were included if they received a 5/10 rating on Pedro's scale. Fugyl-Meyer outcome was chosen as a common measure for all investigations since it was meant to be used for patients with post-stroke hemiplegia patients of various ages. The RevMan version 5.4 software was used to conduct the meta-analysis. To examine heterogeneity, Higgins I2 and Chi-square (Tau2) statistical tests were utilised.
Results: Out of all 45 studies initially, only seven studies were included for systematic review and five studies were included for meta- analysis. In stroke patients, significant improvement found after Vibration intervention, The meta-analysis found an increase in FMA with large effect size (0.75) (SMD 0.12, 95%CI -0.19 to 0.43, n=80) and moderate heterogenetiy (I2 = 37% ) after intervention when compared with the control group.
Conclusions: Vibration therapy is effective for improving upper limb function.