OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of local vibration applied to the plantar region of the foot on static and dynamic balance in stroke patients. DESIGN: Randomised, controlled trial. SETTING: Inpatient. PARTICIPANTS: Thirty patients with stroke were randomised equally to the vibration and control groups. INTERVENTION: The control group underwent conventional physical therapy (CPT) for 4 weeks. The vibration group underwent local vibration therapy at a frequency of 80Hz and CPT for 4 weeks. OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcome measure was the Overall Stability Index (OSI). The secondary outcome measures were: the Anteroposterior Stability Index, Mediolateral Stability Index, fall risk, Berg Balance Scale, Functional Reach Test (FRT), and Timed Up and Go Test (TUG) to assess balance; the Trunk Impairment Scale to measure trunk function; and the 10-m Walk Test (10MWT) to measure walking speed. RESULTS: Participants receiving plantar vibration experienced greater improvements in static and dynamic balance assessments compared with participants in the control group. The mean change in OSI score between baseline and 4 weeks was 0.8 (standard deviation (SD) 0.8) for the vibration group and 0.02 (SD 0.6) for the control group (mean difference 0.4, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.1 to 0.7). The median change in fall risk score was 0.7 (interquartile range (IQR) 0.4 to 1.4) for the vibration group and 0.1 (IQR -0.1 to 0.6) for the control group (median difference 0.5, 95% CI 0.2 to 0.7). The median change in TUG time was 4 (IQR 1 to 7) seconds for the vibration group and 4 (IQR 0 to 2) seconds for the control group (median difference 2.5, 95% CI 1.5 to 3.5). CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that plantar vibration is useful in stroke patients. Plantar vibration can be applied to support CPT. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT03784768.

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