BACKGROUND: To examine whole-body vibration (WBV) effect on bone mineral density (BMD) and fall prevention in postmenopausal women, we performed a meta-analysis and systematic review of prospective randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing change in BMD of the femoral neck and lumbar spine and related factors of falls between WBV group and control group. METHODS: Embase, PubMed, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, ISI Web of Science, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) were searched up to April 2015; search strategy was used as follows: (vibration) AND (osteoporo* OR muscle* OR bone mineral density OR BMD). All prospective randomized controlled trials comparing related factors of falls and BMD change in the femoral neck and lumbar spine between WBV group and control group were retrieved. RESULTS: Eight of 3,599 studies with 1,014 patients were included, 477 in the WBV group, and 537 in the control group. We found that there was no significant difference in all magnitude groups of the femoral neck (n = 936, WMD 0.00 (-0.00 to 0.01); p = 0.18). A statistical significance showed in the all magnitude groups (n = 1014, WMD 0.01 (0.00 to 0.01); p = 0.01) and low-magnitude group (n = 838, WMD 0.01 (0.00 to 0.01); p = 0.007) of the lumbar spine. No significant difference was found in high-magnitude group of the lumbar spine (n = 176, WMD 0.00 (-0.01 to 0.02); p = 0.47), low-magnitude group (n = 838, WMD 0.00 (-0.00 to 0.00); p = 0.92) and high-magnitude group (n = 98, WMD 0.02 (-0.00 to 0.05); p = 0.06) of the femoral neck. All the studies provided data of related factors of falls such as strength of the lower limb, balance, and fall rate reported effectiveness of WBV therapy. In addition, no complication was reported. CONCLUSIONS: Low-magnitude whole-body vibration therapy can provide a significant improvement in reducing bone loss in the lumbar spine in postmenopausal women. Moreover, whole-body vibration can be used as an intervention for fall prevention.

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