Vibration therapy was originally developed from research on helping astronauts avoid bone loss during space travel, using mechanical vibrations to contract and relax muscles numerous times per second, stimulating bones to respond by growing.
Studies indicate that vibration therapy may help postmenopausal women slow the loss of bone density over time, improving balance and helping prevent falls that lead to fractures.
The Basics
Osteoporosis is a condition that leads to bone fragility and often results in life-altering or debilitating fractures, often as the result of age, medications, diet or vitamin D deficiencies. Medication may slow progression; alternative therapies such as vibration therapy may also prove useful; one such therapy involves standing on a platform which vibrates to simulate mechanical stress on bones – this has been found to increase density while also helping prevent fractures for those living with osteoporosis.
Vibration therapy was initially developed as an aid to astronauts spending extended time in space without gravitational forces. Scientists found that astronauts who stood on a vibrating plate for just 10 minutes daily could restore some of the bone loss that occurs while in space, prompting further investigations as to whether vibration therapy could also serve as an effective therapy option for osteoporosis sufferers.
Vibration therapy for osteoporosis requires patients to be able to stand on a vibration plate for at least 10 minutes per session. The vibrating plate will send out mechanical vibrations which stimulate muscles and bones of patients by contracting and relaxing numerous times each second, producing maximum beneficial results at 30 Hertz frequency.
Vibrations will travel throughout your body, with particularly significant impacts felt in hips and spine due to gravity’s effects. Through mechanical loading stimulation by vibrations, osteoclasts (bone cells that break down bone) will be inhibited while osteoblasts (cells that produce new bone) will be stimulated into producing more new bone mass.
Vibration therapy can be found at fitness centers, physiotherapy services and even home-based vibration devices; however, it is still not widely offered through the NHS. Furthermore, people with certain medical conditions such as joint replacements or eye problems should avoid vibration therapy therapy; similarly those who recently fractured an arm should also not utilize this form of treatment.
Benefits
Vibration therapy‘s impact on bone density has been extensively documented by scientific articles. Not only can vibration therapy increase bone density, but it has been shown to also strengthen bones and reduce fracture rates.
Vibration can provide mechanical loading that keeps bones strong. Vibration is especially useful during menopause when estrogen production drops and osteoclasts break down more bone than they can create; vibration helps stop this by stimulating osteoclasts to stop taking away bone while stimulating osteoblasts to start creating it. This reduces bone loss.
Studies have demonstrated the benefits of both direct and indirect vibration on bone health. Direct vibration involves vibrating specific parts of the body while indirect vibration affects all aspects of life; most studies with positive results have employed direct vibration; some also used indirect vibration techniques.
Indirect vibration has also been demonstrated to aid muscle soreness relief and speed recovery following physical activity, due to its ability to decrease inflammation caused by exercise and reduce amounts of lactate that builds up in muscles. Furthermore, indirect vibration can expand range of motion for joints while hastening recovery from muscle strain.
Vibration therapy offers another significant advantage by helping prevent falls, which are the leading cause of injuries and deaths among people aged 65+. Vibration therapy can improve balance while decreasing risks associated with falling; an important element in maintaining bone density in postmenopausal women.
Studies have demonstrated that vibration therapy may help lower the risk of broken bones for postmenopausal women; however, its effect is unknown for those living with osteoporosis. Most research on vibration therapy‘s effects was conducted among healthy young people without osteoporosis; only recently has research been completed among postmenopausal women living with osteoporosis; its benefits may also extend to men living with the condition.
Side Effects
Vibration therapy employs mechanical vibrations to stimulate muscle contractions and improve balance and bone density, acting like exercise in its own right. You may find vibratory therapy offered at fitness clubs, physiotherapy services or home gyms. Unfortunately it’s not covered by NHS; instead it must be recommended by a doctor; but due to passing through your body during the treatment it could potentially have some side effects or affect bones which could result in some side effects as well.
Recent studies on vibration’s impact on bone health have produced inconsistent findings. One found that whole-body vibration improved bone density among healthy postmenopausal women (Hedges’ g = 0.11; p0.05; 95% CI: 0.02, 0.22) while another revealed that side-alternating vibration did not increase bone mineral density among healthy postmenopausal people who took calcium and vitamin D supplements.
Bone loss is an inevitable part of aging and one of the primary causes of osteoporosis, an incurable condition which results in inner bone structure becoming porous and brittle, increasing risk for fractures. Women tend to be affected more by osteoporosis after menopause; however it can affect anyone.
Maintain a healthy lifestyle and get enough physical activity. Exercise, proper nutrition and fulfilling vitamin D requirements all play an integral part in supporting bone health. However, if you already have osteoporosis or are at increased risk of it due to medical issues, vibration therapy could provide additional steps for slowing its deterioration.
Vibration therapy could provide one way of helping prevent osteoporosis by stimulating muscles to contract and improving your balance, and maintaining existing bone mass. But this therapy alone is no cure – additional measures such as medication or surgery will still need to be taken in order to protect bones from further damage, while bone density may be increased through regular exercise, proper nutrition and supplementation, or specific exercises designed by your physician to increase bone strength.
Cost
Whole body vibration therapy is not currently covered by the NHS; however, you may come across machines in gyms or physiotherapy services or purchase one yourself to use at home. Low intensity vibration machines resemble large bathroom scales in their operation – emitting up-and-down vibrations at 30 cycles per second to strengthen vulnerable bones in your hips and lower spine. They cost between PS100 to PS3000.
We will review available evidence on the effectiveness of whole-body vibration for improving bone density and treating osteoporosis, including studies conducted using various vibration modalities, relevant patient populations, outcomes and comparator groups in therapy studies. This data will be presented both narratively and via tables by population subgroup, platform size/design type as well as study location size design type. Furthermore, semistructured interviews will be held with key informants including experts in this field, clinicians and consumers.
