Comparison of the Immediate Effect of the Whole-body Vibration on Proprioceptive Precision of the Knee Joint Between Barefoot and Shoe-wearing Conditions in Healthy Participants

Abstract

Background: Whole-body vibration (WBV) has been used to alleviate proprioceptive damage by musculoskeletal and neurological conditions. However, no study has determined whether wearing shoes while applying WBV can affect proprioception precision of the knee joint. Objects: This study aimed to determine the differences in the proprioceptive precision of the knee joint before and after WBV and to compare the proprioceptive precision of the knee joint between barefoot and shoe-wearing conditions. Methods: This study recruited 33 healthy participants. A passive-to-active angle reproduction test was used to measure the proprioception precision of the knee joint using an electrogoniometer, and the target angle was set to a knee flexion of 30°. Proprioception precision was calculated using the error angle (angular difference from 30°). Proprioceptive precision was measured in weight-bearing and non-weight-bearing positions before and after applying WBV for 20 minutes at 12 Hz in barefoot and shoe-wearing conditions. Mixed repeated analysis of variance was used to determine the differences in changes in the proprioceptive precision of the knee joint according to foot conditions. Results: There were significant improvements in the weight-bearing (p = 0.002) and nonweight- bearing (p < 0.001) proprioceptive precision of the knee joint after applying WBV. However, there was no significant difference in the change in proprioceptive precision of the knee joint after applying WBV between the barefoot and shoe-wearing conditions. Conclusion: WBV stimulation had an immediate effect on improving the proprioceptive precision of the knee joint. However, foot conditions (barefoot or shoe-wearing) during WBV application did not influence the proprioceptive precision of the knee joint.