Efficacy of plantar vibration on balance and postural control post-stroke: A systematic review

Balance and postural control impairments are common in patients post-stroke. Vibration interventions are among the recently researched interventions and have been shown to positively affect gait and proprioception post-stroke. This review aimed to determine the efficacy of plantar foot vibration in improving balance and postural control outcomes after stroke. As a first review of this topic, the purpose was to identify current literature limitations and provide recommendations for future research. A systematic search of CINAHL Ultimate, MEDLINE, SPORTDiscus with Full Text, and The Allied and Complementary Medicine Database (AMED) was conducted in April 2025. Due to heterogeneity across outcome measures, a systematic review in the form of a narrative synthesis of results was performed. Methodological quality analysis was assessed using the modified Downs and Black checklist. Eight articles that met the inclusion criteria were identified, 7 of which could be retrieved and used in the narrative synthesis. Results of the narrative synthesis provide evidence to suggest plantar vibration can improve balance and postural control post-stroke, even immediately after treatment and in chronic-stroke patients. Based on different outcome measures, results suggest that dynamic standing balance may benefit more than static standing balance. Current research shows promising results for the beneficial effects of plantar vibration on improving balance and postural control post-stroke. However, high-quality research investigating the effects of vibration frequency and length of plantar vibration treatment is required to determine the optimal treatment approach.