A critical appraisal of "Whole-body vibration improves ankle spasticity, balance, and walking ability in individuals with incomplete cervical spinal cord injury"

The clinical question being researched was focused on the benefits of whole body vibration in spinal cord injury patients. This term paper was written to critically appraise the article titled, "Whole-body vibration improves ankle spasticity, balance, and walking ability in individuals with incomplete cervical spinal cord injury"� which answered the initial clinical question directly. A brief research was conducted to find this article which explained a double-blinded, randomized clinical trial conducted in South Korea analyzing the differences between two groups (intervention vs. control) using whole body vibration as the intervention. The structure and method of conducting the research study were very clearly stated and could easily be replicated, referencing numerous credible literatures. There were few weaknesses in the study, such as the somewhat high attrition rate and lack of a hypothesis given, but overall the research paper showed how valuable this intervention could be to the PT world in treatment of those with incomplete spinal cord injuries. The authors then went on to encourage further research on the topic, and humbly addressed their own limitations/weaknesses that might have occurred in their study.