J Korean Phys Ther.  2022 Apr;34(2):68-72. 10.18857/jkpt.2022.34.2.68.

Effect of Vibration Exercise Application on the Trunk Muscle Thickness in Children with Spastic Cerebral Palsy

• Mun DJ
• Park JC
• Oh HJ

• KMID: 2536755
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.18857/jkpt.2022.34.2.68

Abstract

Purpose
This study examined the effect of vibration exercise on the thickness of the oblique extrinsic, oblique abdominal, and biceps muscles, which are trunk muscles, targeting children with spastic cerebral palsy.
Methods
The participants in this study were 20 children (8 male and 12 female) with cerebral palsy aged 5–10 years. They were classified into two groups using a randomized allocation method, and the trunk muscle thickness was measured using an ultrasound-imaging device before and six weeks after the experiment. A paired t-test was used for the within-group changes, and an independent t-test was used for the inter-group changes. The significance level was set to α = 0.05.
Results
There was a significant increase in the inter-group change in the experimental group and control group in the intra-group change in the external oblique muscle and internal oblique muscle. After six weeks, there was a significant increase in the experimental group compared to the control group.
Conclusion
Vibration exercise had a positive effect on the trunk muscle thickness of children with cerebral palsy. Vibration exercise produced a significant difference in the changes in the trunk muscle thickness in children with cerebral palsy compared to no vibration exercise. These results may provide basic data for future research and as a training method for strengthening the trunk muscles in clinical trials.

Keyword

Cerebral palsy; Ultrasound imaging; Vibration