Whole Body Vibration Therapy in Children With Spinal Muscular Atrophy

Summary

Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) are one of the common physical disabilities in childhood. For SMA, progressive muscle weakness and early fatigue hamper the mobility of the sufferers. Osteopenia is common for this population group due to poor bone growth and muscle disuse. As a result, non-traumatic related fractures and bone pain are common. Recently, whole body vibration therapy (WBVT) has been proven to improve bone health and muscle function in healthy adults and post-menopausal women. Among the limited studies on the WBVT for children with muscular dystrophies, promising results have been shown on gross motor function, balance, and muscle strength and the WBVT appears to be safe for children with SMA.

The present pilot study is designed to investigate if WBVT is safe and feasible for individuals with SMA and if WBVT can improve muscle function, functional abilities, postural control and bone mineral density in children with SMA. Convenience samples of 10 individuals with SMA type III will be recruited. The participants will receive the WBVT of 25 Hertz and a peak-to-peak amplitude of 4mm for a session of about 18 minutes, 3 days per week for 4 weeks. Assessment will be performed at the baseline and the completion of the intervention to examine the muscle function, functional abilities, postural control and bone mineral density of the participants.

It is anticipated that the outcomes of this pilot study for SMA may show if this intervention is safe, feasible and beneficial for children with SMA type III regarding to muscle function, functional abilities, postural control and bone mineral content and if there may be any related practical issues of this intervention to this population group. The outcomes also provide research evidence to clinicians if this intervention should be recommended to individuals of similar problems.

Conditions

• Spinal Muscular Atrophy Type 3

Interventions

DEVICE

whole body vibration therapy

The whole body vibration therapy regime is as follows: Day Vibration 1 Rest 1 Vibration 2 Rest 2 Vibration 3 Rest 3 1. st 1 min;12Hz 3 min 1 min;12Hz 3 min 1 min;15Hz 3 min 2. nd 1 min;15Hz 3 min 1 min;15Hz 3 min 2 min;15Hz 3 min 3. th 2 min;15Hz 3 min 3 min;15Hz 3 min 3 min;15Hz 3 min 4. th 2 min;24-25Hz 3 min 2 min;24-25Hz 3 min 2 min;24-25Hz 3 min \>5th 3 min;24-25Hz 3 min 3 min;24-25Hz 3 min 3 min;24-25Hz 3 min The participants will perform mini-squats during Vibrations 1 and 3 and weight-shifting between right and left legs during Vibration 2 on the vibration platform under the supervision of a trained research assistant.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Manchester Metropolitan University

  collaborator OTHER

• The University of Hong Kong

  collaborator OTHER

• The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Tamis W Pin, PhD · The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Study Design

Allocation

NA

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

NONE

Model

SINGLE_GROUP

Eligibility

Min Age

6 Years

Max Age

18 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2017-08-01

Primary Completion

2018-07-12

Completion

2018-07-12

Countries

• Hong Kong

Study Locations