Date of Award
2016-01-01
Degree Name
Master of Science
Department
Kinesiology
Advisor(s)
Feng Yang
Abstract
Falls present a serious challenge among people affected by multiple sclerosis (MS). Controlled whole-body vibration (CWBV) training has been recently introduced into the physical therapy field to prevent falls in older adults. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of an 8-week vibration-training program in reducing the risk of falls in people living with MS. The study adopted a single-group pre-test â?? post-test longitudinal design. Twenty-five adults with clinicallyâ??confirmed MS were enrolled in this study to undergo the 8-week intervention on a side-alternating vibration machine. The training was delivered three times a week for eight weeks a total of 24 training sessions. The vibration frequency was set at 20 Hz and an amplitude of 1.3 mm. Prior to the training course, a battery of fall risk factors, including body balance, functional mobility, muscle strength, ankle joint range of motion, sensation of the feet, fear of falling, and bone density were evaluated. The results revealed that the vibration training program was able to significantly improve almost all the outcome measurements (body balance, functional mobility, muscle strength, range of motion, fear of falling, and bone density) with moderate to large effect sizes varying from 0.3 to 1.2. More importantly, our study, for the first time, discovered that vibration training could improve the range of motion of the ankle joints, fear of falling and bone density among people with MS. The findings from this study could provide guidance to design an optimal CWBV-based fall prevention program for people with MS. Given that the El Paso region is a nationally-recognized MS cluster area, this project holds clinical, medical, and practical significance.
Language
en
Provenance
Received from ProQuest
Copyright Date
2016
File Size
66 pages
File Format
application/pdf
Rights Holder
Maria Cristal Sanchez
Recommended Citation
Sanchez, Maria Cristal, "Effects Of Controlled-Whole Body Vibration Training On Reducing Risk Of Falls In People With Multiple Sclerosis" (2016). Open Access Theses & Dissertations. 747.
https://scholarworks.utep.edu/open_etd/747