title: The effects of whole body vibration on muscle strength and functional mobility in persons with multiple sclerosis: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This review aimed to confirm the effects of the whole body vibration (WBV) on muscle performance and functional mobility in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  A systematic literature search was performed in databases of Pubmed, Web of Science, EMBASE and the Cochrane Library from 1990 to 2015. The risk of bias in the selected studies was assessed using the Cochrane Collaboration's Tool. Summary statistics was calculated using the Review Manager 5.2 software.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 7 trials including 201 subjects were included in this meta-analysis. The results showed that the WBV significantly improved the knee extensor strength (WMD=13.74, 95% CI 4.56 to 22.93, P=0.003). However, there were no significant differences between WBV and control groups on knee flexor strength (95% CI -26.22 to 41.83, P=0.65), Timed Up and Go test (TUG, WMD=0.31, 95% CI: -0.91 to 3.42, P=0.62) and walking speed (SMD=0.42, 95% CI: -0.78 to 1.62, P=0.49).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results indicate that the WBV may improve the knee extension muscle strength. However, the WBV does not show a meaningful improvement of functional mobility in MS patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210029, China.
authors.forename: Haiyan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.affiliation: Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210029, China.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210029, China; Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, The Jiangsu Shengze Hospital 215228, China. Electronic address: Guangxu_Xu@163.com.
authors.forename: Guangxu
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Xu
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000628:therapy*; D053580:Muscle Strength; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D014732:Vibration / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016138:Walking
keywords: Functional mobility; Meta-analysis; Multiple sclerosis; Muscle strength; Whole body vibration