Should whole body vibration be used for falls prevention in older people living in the community?

Suzanne M. Dyer, Wing S. Kwok, Rik Dawson, Ian D. Cameron, Catherine Sherrington

Research output: Contribution to journalLetterpeer-review

Abstract

The Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care has recently published a systematic review and network meta-analysis that concludes that whole-body vibration (WBV) has moderate-certainty evidence for falls prevention for older people living in the community. However, as Cochrane Collaboration falls prevention review authors and clinicians, we suggest that when the range of possible effects captured with the 95% confidence intervals, the likelihood of adverse events and the lack of evidence for effectiveness in older people living in care facilities are taken into account, that this intervention should be implemented with caution in this population. Outside of the clinical trial setting, WBV in this population should only be implemented following an individually tailored assessment and with guidance from an appropriately trained health professional.

Original languageEnglish
Article number209
Number of pages3
JournalSystematic Reviews
Volume14
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 31 Oct 2025

Keywords

  • Care homes
  • Community
  • Falls
  • Older people
  • Whole body vibration

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