THE EFFECT OF VIBROACOUSTIC THERAPY ON SPASTICITY AND HEART RATE VARIABILITY IN TWO YOUNG ADULTS WITH CEREBRAL PALSY

Abstract

Abstract: Vibroacoustic therapy (VAT) uses sinusoidal, low-frequency sound waves in combination with music for therapeutic purposes. Current research indicates the effectiveness of this therapy for spasticity in children with cerebral palsy (CP), however, this evidence is completely lacking in adolescents and adults with CP. The aim of these two single subject case studies (with an ABA' design) was to determine the effect of VAT on spasticity and heart rate variability (HRV) in persons with MO. VAT was applied through the VIBROBED rehabilitation vibroacoustic bed and the Elements program (20 minutes, musical composition with biorhythmically dosed low-frequency sound – amplitude and frequency modulation) in a girl (20 years old) and a boy (19 years old), both with spasticity, motor and other problems. As a result of VAT application, spasticity improved in both cases, namely min. by one point on the Ashworth scale after each encounter. In the case of the analysis of the influence of VAT on HRV, contradictory trends of the reported values ​​of the Mean HR and RMSSD parameters were found in both cases. While in the first case parasympathetic activity increased as a result of the intervention, in the second case the intervention caused a decrease in parasympathetic activity. From the mentioned measurements and subsequent analyses, it is not possible to clearly predict how VAT acts on the autonomic nervous system. It seems that the resulting trend of VAT action (in the direction of supporting the parasympathetic or sympathetic part of the ANS) is determined by a number of influences, including interindividual differences in the organism's reactivity. Due to the limitations of this pilot study, we suggest that this topic be the subject of a new study with a modified measurement design, which would examine interindividual differences in reactivity to VAT and the effects of other influencing parameters in this population.