The Effects of Whole-Body Vibration Training on Clinical and Functional Outcomes in Individuals Diagnosed With Interstitial Lung Disease

This randomized controlled trial aims to investigate the clinical and functional effects of Whole Body Vibration (WBV) training when added to a standard pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) program in patients with fibrotic interstitial lung disease (ILD). Participants aged between 40 and 80 years with confirmed ILD diagnosis will be randomly assigned to two groups: (1) PR only (control), and (2) PR + WBV (intervention). The program will last for 8 weeks, with supervised sessions twice per week. Primary outcome measures include pulmonary function (FEV₁, FVC), exercise capacity (6-minute walk test), dyspnea (mMRC and Borg scale), arterial blood gas analysis, depression level (Beck Depression Inventory), and disease-specific quality of life (St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire). WBV will be performed using a side-alternating vibration platform starting at 10 Hz and progressively increased up to 24-26 Hz over 8 weeks. All procedures will follow ATS/ERS guidelines. This study is conducted at the Chest Diseases Department of Sultan Abdulhamid Han Training and Research Hospital in Istanbul under the supervision of a multidisciplinary team. The goal is to determine whether WBV offers additional benefit in improving functional outcomes, respiratory performance, and quality of life in ILD patients undergoing PR.