The Effect of Vibration Therapy and Mirror Therapy on Upper Limb Function in Patients With Stroke

Vibration Therapy uses vibration as a physical tool during the treatment. It can be applied with different devices that transmit mechanical vibration throughout the whole or a part of the body. Focal Muscle Vibration (FMV) is a safe, well-tolerated and non-invasive technique, which may be an efficient intervention in reducing the upper extremity spasticity, whereas Whole Body Vibration (WBV) can provide proper somatosensory stimulation, and improve muscle strength and postural control in stroke patients (Oliveira et al., 2018).

Mirror Therapy is a structured, inexpensive, simple and patient-directed treatment. The principle of Mirror Therapy is the use of a mirror to create a reflective illusion of an affected limb, in order to trick the brain into thinking the movement has occurred without pain. It has shown to improve movements of the affected upper limb and the ability to carry out daily activities, in addition to reducing pain (Dhami et al., 2019).