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Focal muscle vibration as a possible intervention to prevent falls in elderly women: a pragmatic randomized controlled trial

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Abstract

Backgrounds

Different and new approaches have been proposed to prevent the risk of falling of elderly people, particularly women.

Aims

This study investigates the possibility that a new protocol based on the focal mechanical muscle vibration may reduce the risk of falling of elderly women.

Methods

A pragmatic randomized controlled triple-blind trial with a 6-month follow-up after intervention randomized 350 women (mean age 73.4 years + 3.11), members of local senior citizen centers in Rome, into two groups: vibrated group (VG) and control group (CG). For VG participants a mechanical vibration (lasting 10 min) was focally applied on voluntary contracted quadriceps muscles, three times a day during three consecutive days. CG subjects received a placebo vibratory stimulation. Subjects were tested immediately before (T0) and 30 (T1) and 180 (T2) days after the intervention with the Performance-Oriented Mobility Assessment (POMA) test. All subjects were asked not to change their lifestyle during the study. CG underwent sham vibratory treatment.

Results

While CG did not show any statistically significant change of POMA at T1 and T2, VG revealed significant differences. At T2, ≈47 % of the subjects who completed the study obtained the full score on the POMA test and ≈59 % reached the full POMA score.

Conclusions

The new protocol seems to be promising in reducing the risk of falling of elderly subjects.

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Abbreviations

CG:

Control group

POMA:

Performance-Oriented Mobility Assessment

rMV:

Repetitive muscle vibration

VG:

Vibrated group

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Conflict of interest

We certify that Filippi G.M. is a consultant with the dealer of the device used in this study. None of the other authors has a conflict of interest which could alter the primary interest of this study.

Human and Animal Rights

The experimental protocol was designed in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki (1964) and was approved by the Catholic University ethics committee (P/1218/CE/2012).

Informed consent

All study participants provided informed consent.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Division, Umberto I Hospital, Sapienza University, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185, Rome, Italy

    Claudia Celletti & Filippo Camerota

  2. Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Sapienza University, Rome, Italy

    Luigi Fattorini

  3. Department of Gerontology and Geriatrics, Catholic University, Rome, Italy

    Diego Ricciardi & Francesco Landi

  4. Department of Public Health and Infectious Diseases, Sapienza University, Rome, Italy

    Giuseppe La Torre

  5. Institute of Human Physiology, Catholic University, Rome, Italy

    Guido Maria Filippi

Authors
  1. Claudia Celletti
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  2. Luigi Fattorini
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  3. Filippo Camerota
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  4. Diego Ricciardi
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  5. Giuseppe La Torre
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  6. Francesco Landi
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  7. Guido Maria Filippi
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Claudia Celletti.

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Celletti, C., Fattorini, L., Camerota, F. et al. Focal muscle vibration as a possible intervention to prevent falls in elderly women: a pragmatic randomized controlled trial. Aging Clin Exp Res 27, 857–863 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40520-015-0356-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40520-015-0356-x

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