Effect of noisy galvanic vestibular stimulation in community-dwelling elderly people: a randomised controlled trial.
Yasuto Inukai, Mitsuhiro Masaki, Naofumi Otsuru and 4 others
PMID 29970144WHAT IT FOUND
During eyes-open standing, weak noisy electrical stimulation at the mastoids reduced sway path and side-to-side and front-to-back sway speed in 32 independent older adults; sham did not.
Key findings
01In the noisy galvanic vestibular stimulation group, sway path length decreased by 7.7 ± 1.9%, mediolateral mean velocity decreased by 8.5 ± 2.4%, and anteroposterior mean velocity decreased by 8.3 ± 2.6% compared with baseline.
02In the sham control group, sway path length changed by 0.2 ± 3.1%, mediolateral mean velocity changed by 0.6 ± 4.0%, and anteroposterior mean velocity changed by 0.4 ± 3.4%, with no significant difference from baseline.
03In the noisy galvanic vestibular stimulation group, baseline sway path length was significantly correlated with the stimulation effect, but this correlation was not found in the control group.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
The study included only 32 people who lived independently and had no orthopedic or neurological disease, so it does not show effects in people with diagnosed balance disorders, neurological disease, or frailty. The balance changes were measured only during stimulation, not after a course of treatment, and fall incidence was not assessed. The study did not include fragile elderly people who suffer repeat falls. The optimum stimulation intensity and frequency band remain unknown, and the study used a constant 0.4 mA rather than individually optimised intensity. The stimulation effect was not correlated with timed up and go or one leg stance scores, possibly because participants were already independent.
Declared interests
Funding came from Exploratory Research from Niigata University of Health and Welfare.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the reduced sway as proof that noisy galvanic vestibular stimulation prevents falls. The study did not assess fall incidence and did not include fragile elderly people who suffer repeat falls.