Localized vibration therapy (LVT) is an alternative treatment option that uses different frequencies and speeds of vibration to stimulate nerve and muscle responses in the body, providing relief for various medical conditions.
Findings suggest that vibration therapy could be useful in supporting healing for PIs, VLUs and DFUs. The optimal vibration settings should include low frequency (47Hz or below) and intensity for treatments lasting 15-30 minutes three times daily for five weeks.
Increased Muscle Strength and Power
Localized vibration therapy utilizes vibrating devices applied directly to muscles or tendons for therapy purposes. Studies have demonstrated its efficacy at increasing muscle strength and power as well as improving range of motion and flexibility; furthermore it may boost athletic performance as well as reduce pain. Vibration therapy can be utilized by those suffering from any number of ailments ranging from sprains and strains to chronic back and neck conditions.
Vibrations stimulate muscles to contract and relax quickly, increasing blood flow and releasing endorphins, the body’s natural painkillers. Vibrations also stimulate nerves to send more signals to the brain for contracting/flexing of muscle fibres; this results in greater muscular activity and range of motion after just one treatment session!
Studies demonstrate that vibrations increase the firing rate of muscle spindles – responsible for initiating contractions and producing force – due to inducing a reflexive contribution from muscles called tonic vibration response (TVR). Studies indicate this as the primary mechanism by which vibration can improve muscle function; other mechanisms include elevated temperature of muscles as well as greater corticospinal excitability.
Vibrations when applied directly to muscles stimulate the afferent nervous system to fire more muscle spindles than usual and increase force generation – which explains its efficacy at increasing strength and power.
Studies have also demonstrated how vibration therapy can assist individuals suffering from sarcopenia – the age-related loss of muscle mass – with improving both balance and gait, particularly those living with the condition. According to one 2021 systematic review and meta-analysis study, whole body vibration therapy combined with traditional exercises significantly increased balance and gait improvement compared to those not receiving WBV treatments.
Vibration therapy has another significant benefit – post-exercise recovery. One 2017 study demonstrated this fact by showing those who sat in a vibrating chair after running on a treadmill for 30 minutes had lower lactate levels than those resting in regular chairs.
Reduced Pain
Vibration therapy can effectively alleviate pain by stimulating sensory receptors in skin and muscle, disrupting transmission of pain signals to the brain. Furthermore, vibration therapy stimulates the nervous system for relaxation and stress relief. Furthermore, vibration can assist lymphatic movement to decrease swelling while improving healing capabilities of the body.
Vibrating the body can improve posture and range of motion while increasing blood flow to muscles and joints – helping reduce swelling, relieve pain, and help prevent sarcopenia – an age-related muscle weakness and decreased strength due to chronic diseases or age related wear-and-tear.
Researchers recently conducted a study and discovered that vibration therapy can increase stem cell proliferation and nerve growth factor (NGF) secretion in human muscle. To test their theory, researchers employed vibration to treat sciatic nerve injuries in adult male Sprague-Dawley rats; continuously applying vibration at 2mm was the most successful means of encouraging regeneration while stimulating NGF secretion.
This study’s results indicate that vibration therapy could be an effective method of treating patients with spinal cord injuries as well as peripheral neuropathies, rheumatoid arthritis, and postural deficits. Further investigation will be necessary to see whether vibration can successfully reduce human pain; small sample sizes and limited patient populations in some studies may limit its generalizability.
Localized vibration therapy has the ability to both reduce injection-related pain and increase patient satisfaction, making injections more comfortable for patients. Clinical trials involving larger samples sizes and diverse patient populations would help evaluate its efficacy for alleviating injection-related discomfort, while simultaneously exploring its mechanism; past research results have been inconsistent on this matter. Piezo1 and Piezo2 ion channels may play a part in its analgesic properties; however it could also activate mechanosensors across an extensive network.
Improved Circulation
Vibration therapy can help improve circulation by stimulating muscles and providing an energy boost to joints. This increased blood flow can assist with post-workout recovery as well as alleviate symptoms associated with poor circulation such as cold hands or feet, tingling or numbness. Poor circulation may result from many factors including inactivity, injury or diabetes – vibration therapy provides an easy and convenient alternative if cardio exercise is not an option for some reason.
Studies have demonstrated that whole-body vibration (WBV) at lower frequencies (20-50Hz) has beneficial musculoskeletal and physiological responses, including enhanced muscle oxygenation and performance enhancements. Unfortunately, less is known about how localized vibration therapy at these same frequencies affects human physiology and performance.
Current research suffers from the lack of standardized methods for local vibration therapy. This hampers comparison of experimental results and hinders academics from drawing confident conclusions. To address this issue, future research must aim at standardizing localized vibration therapy parameters like frequency, amplitude, duration in order to more accurately assess its effects on human performance.
Researchers conducted studies aimed at investigating whether vibratory stimulation of the calf muscles could increase popliteal arterial blood flow (BF). A small group of healthy recreationally active university students was exposed to eight therapeutic conditions involving different combinations of vibration on calf muscles and ultrasound measurements of BF; heart rates were recorded in order to ensure vibrations did not alter cardiovascular response.
One study noted that localized vibration therapy applied to the calf muscles led to increased blood flow (BF), outperforming rolling or hand massage in increasing BF levels. This may be attributed to either mechanical effects from vibrations themselves or stimulation of sensory receptors that signal movement initiation and thus interrupt pain signals from areas being treated. Another advantage of localized vibration therapy is encouraging lymphatic drainage – essential in ridding yourself of waste products from your body.
Promotes Lymphatic Drainage
Vibration therapy engages muscle tissue similarly to exercise by inducing a contract-relax cycle that speeds up waste removal from muscles. This improves circulation and allows more oxygen into your cells for detoxification; simultaneously it promotes lymphatic drainage that removes waste from muscles quickly so your muscle tissue recovers more quickly after exercising.
Studies show that vibration massage can also provide significant relief for fibromyalgia symptoms, including widespread muscle pain and fatigue. According to one such study, patients diagnosed with this condition respond favorably to vibration massage treatments and experience improved quality of life over time. Researchers believe the reason is due to muscle activation caused by vibration massage as well as improved blood flow to muscles which decrease numbness and soreness in affected areas.
Localized vibration therapy exposes only a specific part of the body to rapid oscillatory movements, thus increasing benefits while decreasing side effects. This differs from whole body vibration therapy which exposes all organs and systems. Vibration can cause muscles to contract and relax as well as stimulate Pacinian corpuscles in humans which respond by producing bell-shaped stimulus-response curves; additionally primary endings of muscle spindles release with frequencies phase-locked with the vibration frequency.
Stimulation of mechanoreceptors and muscle spindles improves transmission of motor commands to the spinal cord, leading to therapeutic neuromuscular changes. Not only can it increase strength and endurance for muscles but it can also decrease pain by activating an antinociceptive response in the central nervous system; alleviating symptoms such as numbness or soreness in soft tissues of fibromyalgia is another possible side benefit of such stimulation.
Furthermore, vibration therapy has the ability to increase circulating stem/progenitor cells and cytokines that support healing processes. A study compared the impact of standing platform vibration, repetitive leg squat exercise and their combination on progenitor cell and cytokine levels; they found that combined activity boosted angiogenic CPCs while simultaneously decreasing oxidative stress markers like irisin and thiobarbituric acid concentrations.
