The Effect of Whole Body Vibration Training on Neuromuscular Property in Individuals With Ataxia

The Cerebellum contains ten percent of the total volume of the brain and receives brain, spinal cord and vestibular sensory input. The organization of vestibular and somato-sensory afferent informations are also reported to be impaired in patients with cerebellum dysfunctions. Ataxia and impaired balance control are common symptoms in individuals with spinocerebellar ataxia (SCA). Previous studies have shown that patient with cerebellar damage are usually agonist and antagonist muscle coordination problem. Past studies also found the regulation of reciprocal Ia inhibition was impaired in patients with spinaocerebellar ataxia. In chronic phase, weakness might be developed due to deconditioned. All deficits mentioned above might lead to a decrease functional ability. Therefore, increasing somato-sensory and vestibular input, normalizing the modulation of recriprocal inhibition, and improve muscle strength might be able to improve the functional abilities of individuals with SCA.

Recently, whole body vibration (WBV) has been trained for health groups. Studies showed that WBV training were able to improve muscle strength, balance control, and functional ability. However, there is no evidence showed that whether the whole body vibration training can affect the brain and spinal cord for the regulation of neural circuits. Whether also can affect for maximal voluntary contraction and improve central fatigue. No previous studies that whole body vibration training for SCA.

Therefore, the purpose of this research was to investigate the intracortical facilitation and inhibition, reciprocal Ia inhibition, low frequency depression, maximal voluntary contraction, interpolated twitch technique to compare the different between the SCA and health subject. Also to investigate the short term and long term effect of WBV.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Spinocerebellar Ataxia
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Whole body vibration training

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 17
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Taiwan
  • Taoyuan, Taiwan, 333
    • Chang Gung University

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 20 years and older (ADULT, OLDER_ADULT)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Clinical diagnosis of spinocerebellar ataxia

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: TREATMENT
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Interventional Model: PARALLEL
• Masking: NONE

Number of Arms

4

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
EXPERIMENTAL: WBV group; Stage 1: Short-term Whole body vibration(3 minutes in half-squatting position)	Other: Whole body vibration training
NO_INTERVENTION: Non-WBV group; Stage 1 : Controlled group
EXPERIMENTAL: training group; Stage 2: Long-term WBV training (3 sessions per week for 4 weeks)	Other: Whole body vibration training
NO_INTERVENTION: non-training group; Stage 2: Controlled group

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Muscle twitch force	Measure of changes in muscle twitch force by interpolation twitch technique	Baseline, 4 weeks.
Muscle voluntary activity level	Measure of changes in muscle voluntary activity level by interpolation twitch technique.	Baseline, 4 weeks
Balance	Measure of changes in berge balance scale and one-leg standing.	Baseline, 4 weeks
Severity of cerebellar ataxia	Measure of changes in international cooperative ataxia rating scale(ICARS).	Baseline, 4 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Chang Gung University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: April 1, 2011
• Primary Completion (ACTUAL): March 1, 2013
• Study Completion (ACTUAL): March 1, 2013

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: November 7, 2013
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: November 13, 2013
• First Posted (ESTIMATE): November 14, 2013

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (ESTIMATE): November 14, 2013
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: November 13, 2013
• Last Verified: November 1, 2013

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Whole body vibration; Spinocerebellar ataxia; Reciprocal inhibition; voluntary activation level
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Brain Diseases; Central Nervous System Diseases; Nervous System Diseases; Neurologic Manifestations; Genetic Diseases, Inborn; Neurodegenerative Diseases; Dyskinesias; Spinal Cord Diseases; Heredodegenerative Disorders, Nervous System; Cerebellar Diseases; Ataxia; Cerebellar Ataxia; Spinocerebellar Ataxias; Spinocerebellar Degenerations
• Other Study ID Numbers: 100-1184B