BACKGROUND: Plantar vibration (PV) is considered to enhance proprioceptive input by stimulating mechanoreceptors in the foot, which may help improve ankle joint position sense. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the immediate and short-term effects of PV on ankle proprioception in patients with chronic stroke. METHODS: A randomized, sham-controlled study included 40 patients with stroke, divided into an experimental group (n = 20) and a control group (n = 20). Both groups received conventional physical therapy; additionally, the experimental group received 30 minutes of PV for three days. The control group did not receive vibration. Ankle proprioception was assessed before, immediately after, and one week after using a passive joint position sense test with a HUMAC NORM RIsokinetic Extremity System. RESULTS: The primary analysis focused on between-group comparisons. The experimental group showed an immediate improvement in ankle proprioception at 5degree and 10degree plantar flexion and 15degree dorsiflexion (U 4.136 to 4.193, p < 0.0001), which disappeared during the short-term follow-up (p = 0.063 to 0.780). As a secondary analysis, within-group comparisons showed that the experimental group similarly experienced immediate improvement in ankle proprioception (z 3.714 to 4.029, p < 0.0001), which was lost at short-term follow-up (p = 0.052 to 0.096). No significant changes were observed in the control group throughout the study (p = 0.125 to 0.965). CONCLUSION: Repetitive plantar vibration (RPV) improves ankle proprioception immediately but does not maintain the effect short-term; nonetheless, this immediate improvement may help enhance balance and reduce fall risk, which is especially important in stroke rehabilitation.

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