Effects of Whole-Body Vibration Therapy in Patients with Fibromyalgia: A Systematic Literature Review

Table 2

Sample characteristics and protocol.

Clinical trial	Sample characteristics			Protocol
	Reference	Total sample size ()	Age of whole cohort (mean ± SD) (years)	Treatment of the control group(s)	Treatment of the vibration group	WBV protocol
Alentorn-Geli et al.	[27]; [29]	24^*; 33^*	54.95 ± 2.03; 55.97 ± 1.55	Static and dynamic tasks on a vibratory platform without vibratory stimulus; EG: traditional physical exercise plus static and dynamic tasks on a vibratory platform without vibratory stimulus CG: no exercise programme	Static and dynamic tasks with a WBV protocol; Traditional exercise, followed by static and dynamic tasks with a WBV protocol	Static and dynamic tasks on a vibratory platform with vibratory stimulus: (a) Static squat at 100° of knee flexion; (b) Dynamic squat between 90° and 130° of knee flexion; (c) Maintenance of ankle plantar flexion with legs in extension; (d) Flexion-extension of the right leg between 100° and 130° of knee flexion; (e) Flexion-extension of the left leg between 100° and 130° of knee flexion; (f) Squat at 100° of knee flexion, shifting the body weight from one leg to the other
Gusi et al.	[31]; [30]; [32]	36^*; 41^**; 36^*; 41^**; 36^*	41–65; 41–65; 41–65	None	WBV protocol	The stance of the participants on the platform alternated between the following: (a) feet placed perpendicular to the midline axis of the platform, with the right foot positioned slightly ahead of the left foot. The toes of the right foot and the heel of the left foot were then lifted 4 mm above the surface of the platform. The knees were bent and maintained at a 45° knee angle. (b) Feet were placed perpendicular to the midline axis of the platform, with the left foot positioned slightly ahead of the right foot. The toes of the left foot and the heel of the right foot were lifted 4 mm above the surface of the platform. The knees were bent and maintained at a 45° knee angle
Sañudo et al.	[34]; [33]	26^*; 26^*	59 ± 7.9; 59 ± 7.9	Physical exercise	Physical exercise plus WBV protocol	Three sets of 45 s performed with both feet in contact with the platform and four sets of 30 s with only one foot in contact with the platform (15 s per foot). In each set, the participants stood with both knees in 120° isometric knee flexion
Sañudo et al.	[28]	46^**	57.15 ± 6.8	Physical exercise	Physical exercise plus WBV protocol	Six sets of 30 s performed with both feet on the platform and four sets of 60 s with only one foot in contact with the platform (30 s per foot); In each set, the participants stood with both knees in 120° isometric knee flexion

CG: control group; EG: exercise group; * for treatment effects analysis; ** for intention-to-treat analysis.