Effect of plantar vibration on ankle proprioception in chronic stroke patients: a randomized controlled trial

Plantar vibration (PV) is considered to enhance proprioceptive input by stimulating mechanoreceptors in the foot, which may help improve ankle joint position sense.

To evaluate the immediate and short-term effects of PV on ankle proprioception in patients with chronic stroke.

A randomized, sham-controlled study included 40 patients with stroke, divided into an experimental group (n = 20) and a control group (n = 20). Both groups received conventional physical therapy; additionally, the experimental group received 30 minutes of PV for three days. The control group did not receive vibration. Ankle proprioception was assessed before, immediately after, and one week after using a passive joint position sense test with a HUMAC NORM_®Isokinetic Extremity System.

The primary analysis focused on between-group comparisons. The experimental group showed an immediate improvement in ankle proprioception at 5° and 10° plantar flexion and 15° dorsiflexion (U = 4.136-4.193, p < .001), which disappeared during the short-term follow-up (p = .063-.780). As a secondary analysis, within-group comparisons showed that the experimental group similarly experienced immediate improvement in ankle proprioception (z = 3.714-4.029, p < .001), which was lost at short-term follow-up (p = .052-.096). No significant changes were observed in the control group throughout the study (p = .125-.965).

Repetitive plantar vibration (RPV) improves ankle proprioception immediately but does not maintain the effect short-term; nonetheless, this immediate improvement may help enhance balance and reduce fall risk, which is especially important in stroke rehabilitation.