The neuromuscular responses in patients with Parkinson's disease under different conditions during whole-body vibration training

The effect of whole body vibration on gait stability in individuals with Parkinson's disease: a preliminary study

Background/Aims

Whole body vibration could benefit functional mobility in people with Parkinson's disease. A preliminary study was undertaken to analyse the acute effect of whole body vibration on unobstructed walking and obstacle circumvention in people with Parkinson's disease.

Methods

People with Parkinson's disease and typically healthy individuals as matched controls were divided into four groups with nine individuals in each: experimental or placebo for people with Parkinson's disease and experimental or placebo for the control group. The participants were evaluated in two different gait conditions: unobstructed walking and obstacle circumvention. Then the participants undertook a session of whole body vibration on a KIKOS P201 lateral vibratory platform in two positions: feet shoulder-width apart, and feet shoulder-width apart with slightly flexed knees. The participants were re-evaluated after this session.

Results

After whole body vibration, those in the experimental Parkinson's disease group had a reduced co-contraction of the tibialis anterior and the gastrocnemius lateralis muscles during unobstructed walking, whereas the co-contraction of the tibialis anterior and the gastrocnemius lateralis muscles increased in the experimental control group. In addition, those in the experimental control group had reduced stride duration in unobstructed walking and in obstacle circumvention. After the placebo intervention, the co-contraction of the tibialis anterior and the gastrocnemius lateralis muscles increased in all conditions and stride duration was reduced in unobstructed walking.

Conclusions

Although whole body vibration had no acute efficiency on gait (unobstructed walking and obstacle circumvention), it can improve other components, such as strength, which could be important for people with Parkinson's disease.

EFFECTS OF VIBRATION TRAINING ON BALANCE STABILITY IN LONG JUMPERS

ABSTRACT Introduction Vibration training refers to the introduction of vibration methods into the daily training of athletes for body stimulation. In this way, coaches improve athletes’ strength, flexibility, and balance. Athletes can use vibration to stimulate neuromuscular activation. This allows more active units to be concentrated in the muscular contraction. In this way, the athlete’s muscular strength can be increased. Objective This study aimed to analyze the relationship between vibration training and the balance ability of long jumpers. Methods This paper selects several long jumpers as research subjects. The effects of vibration exercises at different frequencies on athletes’ stability are discussed, employing experimental comparison. In this context, statistical calculations are performed on the experimental results. Results There was no difference in balance ability between the vibration and general training groups before training (P>0.05). The athletes in the vibration training group showed more significant improvement in balance after a training period than the general training group. There were significant differences in the data between the two groups (P<0.01). Conclusion Vibration strength training can effectively improve the balance ability of jumpers. Athletes should increase the frequency of vibration training in their daily training. Level of evidence II; Therapeutic studies - investigation of treatment outcomes.

The connectome from the cerebral cortex to skeletal muscle using viral transneuronal tracers: a review

Connectomics has developed from an initial observation under an electron microscope to the present well-known medical imaging research approach. The emergence of the most popular transneuronal tracers has further advanced connectomics research. Researchers use the virus trans-nerve tracing method to trace the whole brain, mark the brain nerve circuit and nerve connection structure, and construct a complete nerve conduction pathway. This review assesses current methods of studying cortical to muscle connections using viral neuronal tracers and demonstrates their application in disease diagnosis and prognosis.