Effects of whole body vibration in stroke patients

INTERVENTION: The experimental group received a whole body vibration treatment with an increase in the frequency (from 5 to 21 Hz), sets (from 4 to 7) and the time per set (from 30 to 60 s) over 17 sessions (2 sessions per week). Each subject was placed standing on a vibration platform (Galileo Home, Galileo, Novotec, Germany), with a knee flexion of 30 degrees (taking 0 degrees as the anatomical position). In front of the subject was a wall bar that could be grabbed if they were to fall. In each set, the vibration was applied first in the medio‐lateral axis (ML, with the feet parallel to the lower edge of the platform) and, then in the antero‐posterior axis (AP, with the feet parallel to the longest edge of the platform). These foot positions determined the vibration amplitude, which ranged between 4 and 6 mm peak to peak. CONDITION: Stroke PRIMARY OUTCOME: Muscle architecture (rectus femoris, vastus lateralis and medial gastrocnemious) assessed by an ultrasound system (MyLab25, Esaote, Genua, Italy) with a linear array probe (LA 523, 7.5‐12 MHz; probe length, 50 mm; Esaote, Genua SECONDARY OUTCOME: Berg balance scale. Outcome variables included the maximal isometric voluntary contraction of knee extensors by isokinetic dynamometry (Biodex 4, Shirley, NY). INCLUSION CRITERIA: Inclusion criteria were to have suffered an ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke 6 or more months prior to the study, and a National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score greater than 1 and less than 20.