Imagine yourself on a rollercoaster, feeling the exhilarating vibration as it zips along the tracks. Now, imagine harnessing that power to improve the lives of individuals with Multiple Sclerosis (MS). That’s exactly what scientists are exploring with vibration therapy. In a systematic review and meta-analysis, researchers analyzed fourteen studies involving 393 MS patients to determine the effects of vibration therapy on motor and non-motor symptoms. They found that vibration therapy had a significant advantage in improving balance function and walking endurance compared to the control intervention. However, it did not show significant improvements in functional mobility, gait speed, fatigue, and quality of life. Interestingly, the degree of disability and duration of intervention played a role in outcomes. Individuals with a higher degree of disability saw improvements in functional mobility and balance function, while those with a lower degree of disability experienced greater benefits in walking endurance. The duration of intervention also affected outcomes, with interventions lasting less than four weeks showing greater enhancement in walking endurance. This research underscores the potential of vibration therapy as a non-invasive approach to improving motor symptoms for MS patients. Future studies with larger sample sizes are needed to provide further evidence and shed light on its impact on other symptoms.

BackgroundVibration therapy is one of the rehabilitation programs that may be effective in treating both motor and non-motor symptoms in Multiple Sclerosis patients. We conducted a comprehensive systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the effects of vibration therapy on motor and non-motor symptoms (functional mobility, balance, walking endurance, gait speed, fatigue, and quality of life) of this population.MethodsA systematic search of PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Library, Web of Science, Physiotherapy Evidence Database, Scopus, Google Search Engine, and the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI). Two reviewers independently assessed the study quality.ResultsFourteen studies with 393 participants were finally included in the meta-analysis. The pooled results showed that vibration therapy had a significant advantage over the control intervention in improving balance function [mean difference (MD) = 2.04, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.24–3.84, P = 0.03], and walking endurance (SMD = 0.34, 95% CI: 0.07–0.61, P = 0.01). Meanwhile, the degree of disability subgroup analysis revealed that the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) score (3.5–6) significantly improved functional mobility (MD: −1.18, 95% CI: −2.09 to 0.28, P = 0.01) and balance function (MD: 3.04, 95% CI: 0.49–5.59, P = 0.02) compared with the control group, and the EDSS (0–3.5) were more beneficial in walking endurance. The duration subgroup analysis indicated a significant difference in the effect of the duration (<4 weeks) on enhancing walking endurance (SMD: 0.46, 95% CI: 0.04–0.87, P = 0.03). However, no significant improvement was found in functional mobility, gait speed, fatigue, and quality of life.ConclusionVibration therapy may improve balance function and walking endurance, and the degree of disability and duration of intervention may affect outcomes. The evidence for the effects of vibration therapy on functional mobility, gait speed, fatigue, and quality of life remains unclear. More trials with rigorous study designs and a larger sample size are necessary to provide this evidence.Systematic Review RegistrationPROSPERO, https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/#recordDetails, identifier: CRD42022326852.

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