Does acute whole-body vibration training improve the physical performance of people with knee osteoarthritis?

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of a single session of whole-body vibration training (WBVT) on the physical performance of individuals with knee osteoarthritis (OA) in 3 tests designed to simulate activities of daily living (ADLs). Fifteen individuals with symptomatic knee OA completed the Timed-Up-and-Go Test, step test, 20-m walk test, and visual analog scale (VAS) recordings of knee pain intensity. A main effect was detected for time to complete the step test (F[2,28] = 6.243, p = 0.006, (Equation is included in full-text article.)). Post hoc analyses revealed that the time to complete the step test at 5 minutes after WBVT improved significantly (p = 0.042) from that of the pretest. A moderate correlation (r = 0.465, p = 0.001) was found between the VAS scores and the time to complete the step test across all trials. A main effect was found for time to complete the walk test (F[2,28] = 4.370, p = 0.022, (Equation is included in full-text article.)). Post hoc analyses did not indicate significant improvements from pretest seen at 5 minutes after WBVT (p = 0.110) and 1 hour after WBVT (p = 0.224). The WBVT was well tolerated in nearly all the participants, and we observed that an acute bout of WBVT was effective in improving the ability of individuals with knee OA to perform a step test and 20-m walk test. Our findings suggest that WBVT may be an effective nonpharmacologic modality to treat some knee OA symptoms and improve ADLs.