Dr. Jaspar Sidhu D.C. has provided some insights into the world of whole body vibration from a wellness professional’s perspective.  According to Sidhu, “With its many benefits for the patient population, it’s no surprise that vibration exercise therapy is one of the fastest growing modalities in the chiropractic and physiotherapy profession.”

Sidhu’s article cites the following as some of benefits of whole body vibration exercise as:

• Faster strength gains through neurological adaption
• Shorter training times per session
• Patient populations that have been shown to benefit include those suffering from multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia, spinal cord injury, osteoporosis, and Parkinson’s Disease, to name a few

Some estimates are that 28 million people in the U.S. are affected.  Approximately a million osteoporosis related bone fractures occur per year with around 50,000 deaths related from post-bone fracture complications.

The traditional ways of treating bone density loss involve medication using pharmaceuticals and calcium supplements.  This approach generally treats the symptoms, rather than the causes.

Holistic therapies tend to treat causes, rather than symptoms, in the belief that by treating the cause, you will effectively remove the symptoms.

Whole body vibration has been used as an effective therapy for osteoporosis because it provides the replacement for load bearing physical activity necessary to maintain bone density and muscle mass.  In layman’s terms, osteoporosis is combated by muscle stimulation exerting stress on the bone.  When normal physical activity proves inadequate due to factors such as inability to exercise, leaching of calcium from bones through diet or hormonal changes, intervention is necessary.

Whole body vibration has been proved to provide safe and effective intervention when properly used.

Some studies indicate that the triangular oscillation type whole body vibration has a more beneficial effect than the linear, or vertical only vibration.

For further details on this you may download a scientific study published by the Journal for Rehabilitation Research and Development  here.  On the home page are videos that also provide anecdotal case history information.

Here are some abstracts from independent studies conducted on the effects of whole body vibration exercise on humans.  To view these studies,  please click on the link.  Either the file will automatically download or it will open another link window.  Click on that link and the file should automatically download to your computer.  If you have any trouble, please let us know using the comment section below, or email us.

Acute physical effects of wbv

Adaptive responses of skeletal muscle to wbv

Overview of studies of long term wbv exercise

Overview of studies of short term wbv exercise

Effect of wbv on performance and balance

Effect of wbv on muscular performance, balance and bone

Effect of wbv on incontinence

Hormonal responses to wbv in men

Influence of wbv on mechanical behaviour of skeletal muscle

Treatment of chronic lower back pain with wbv

New trends in training science

International journal of sports medicine study

Comparison of strength increase after wbv / resistance training

University of Texas – Medical Branch study

Harnessing electric and magnetic fields for healing and health

Check out the studies below showing the effects of whole body vibration when measured in controlled experiments:

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Study Investigate and compare the effects of 24 weeks of Whole Body Vibration Exercise (WBVE) and Fitness Training on body compostion and muscle strength
Results a significant strength gain both exercise groups compared with a control group. WBVE group increased their strength by 7-25%?Roelents et al (2004b)
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Study: Investigate and compare the effects of 24 weeks of WBVE and Fitness Training on knee extension strength, speed of movement and countermovement jump performance
Results: ?static and dynamic knee extensor strength increased significantly as did speed of movement and jump height for both groups. Changes were observable after 12 weeks of training.?Roelents et al (2004a)
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Study: Investigate the effects of 2 weeks of WBVE
Results: Increase in muscle strength among the WBV group of 28%. Salvarani et al (2003)
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Study:  Investigate and compare the effects of 24 weeks of WBVE and Fitness Training on knee rmovement jump performance.
Results:  Static and dynamic knee extensor strength increased significantly as did speed of movement and jump height for both groups. Changes were observable after 12 weeks of training. Roelents et al (2004a)
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Study: Investigate the effects of 2 weeks of WBVE
Results: Increase in muscle strength among the WBV group of 28%. Salvarani et al (2003)
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