Effects of Whole Body Vibration on Static Balance in Flat Foot During and after the Developing Age after Fatigue

Foot function depends on its shape. Flat Foot is one of the longitudinal arch changes of the foot that is involved in maintaining body balance. Whole Body Vibration is an effective method for applying sinusoidal mechanical oscillations. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effects of whole body vibration on static balance in flat foot during and after the developing age after fatigue. In the current study, 80 patients with Flat Foot (40 females and 40 males) including 40 females and males under 18 with the mean age of 15±1/24 and 40 females and males over 20 with the mean age of 22/57±2/48 were randomly divided into intervention and control groups. Intervention group received four weeks of WBV training. In the control group, including both under 18 and over 20-year-old participants, no intervention was carried out. In this group, the participants followed their daily activities. The fatigue protocol performed on the treadmill and Static balance tests was assessed using Biodex Balance System indices including total, anterior-posterior, and medial-lateral. The results of between group analyses indicated that for the group under 18, all aforementioned variables significantly improved in comparison with those over 20. Whole Body Vibration can be used to improve the static balance of flat foot even after fatigue.