title: Effect of muscle vibration on spatiotemporal gait parameters in patients with Parkinson's disease.
abstract: [Purpose] The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of muscle vibration in the lower extremities in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) during walking. [Subjects] Nine patients with PD participated in this study and were tested with and without vibration (vibration at 60 Hz). [Methods] Eight oscillators of vibration were attached to the muscle bellies (tibialis anterior, gastrocnemius, biceps femoris, and rectus femoris) on both sides of the lower extremities with adhesive tape in this study. Spatiotemporal gait parameters were measured using a motion analysis system. [Results] Stride length and walking speed with vibration were significantly increased compared with those without vibration in PD patients. [Conclusion] These results suggest that the application of vibration to lower extremity muscles in patients with PD may improve the parkinsonian gait pattern.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Therapy, College of Science, Kyungsung University, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Jintae
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Han
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Therapy, Masan University, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Eunjung
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Therapy, Gimhae University, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Jaemin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jung
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Therapy, College of Nursing and Healthcare Sciences, Dong-Eui University, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Junghoon
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Division of Sport Science, Pusan National University, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Hyeryun
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sung
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, College of Medicine, Dong-A University, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Jaewoo
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kim
keywords: Muscle vibration; Parkinson’s disease; Spatiotemporal gait parameter