The effects of whole-body vibration training in Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Objective(s): To investigate the efficacy of whole-body vibration intervention in improving outcomes in patients with patellofemoral pain syndrome.

Data Sources: We performed an electronic literature search through four databases from inception until August 14, 2022.

Study Selection: We imported records into the Mendeley software and checked for duplicates, then performed an eligibility screening against our inclusion criteria through two main phases: title and abstract screening and then full-text screening.

Data Extraction: Two independent authors extracted the required data from included articles and performed a quality assessment by using the Pedro scale for these studies.

Data Synthesis: We included five studies according to our selection criteria, with 180 participants. The participants suffered from either unilateral or bilateral patella-femoral pain. the studies compared whole-body vibration versus conventional exercises. Regarding pain, the pooled analysis of five studies didn’t show significant inter-group differences (pooled standardized mean difference (SMD) - 0.93; 95% confidence interval (CI) - 1.973 to 0.122; P = 0.083). The meta-analysis of four studies didn’t show a significant difference between the application of whole-body vibration and conventional exercises concerning knee function (pooled standardized mean difference (SMD) - 0.93; 95% confidence interval (CI) -0.109 to 0.122; P = 0.083). Moreover, the pooled effect size of the two studies didn’t conclude significant inter-group difference regarding the mental component summary of the quality of life (pooled standardized mean difference (SMD) 0.260; 95% confidence interval (CI) -0.212 to 0.732; P = 0.280). Concerning the physical component summary of the quality of life, the pooled analysis of two studies showed significant results compared to conventional exercise (pooled standardized mean difference (SMD) 0.640; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.159 to 1.121; P = 0.009).

Conclusions: The use of whole-body vibration could improve the physical component summary of the quality of life of patients with patellofemoral pain. However, regarding pain, knee function, and the mental component summary of the quality of life, the application of whole-body vibration seems to be similar to the use of conventional exercises.

Author(s) Disclosures: There are no financial conflicts of interest.