Neck pain is an increasingly prevalent affliction that can have a significant impact on our daily lives. It may result from poor posture, overuse or an injury.
Utilizing a vibration plate can help ease neck pain by encouraging relaxation and relieving tension, as well as improving blood flow which in turn promotes healing while decreasing inflammation.
Reflex muscle stimulation
Vibration therapy is a noninvasive technique used to stimulate sensory nerves in skin and muscles. Combined with other treatments like massage or physiotherapy, vibration therapy can strengthen muscles while decreasing pain levels significantly. Individuals experiencing neck, shoulder, or muscle strain pain may find relief with vibration therapy; furthermore it can provide relief for trigger points – knots found deep within muscle fibers that cause refer pain to other parts of their bodies.
Unilateral Spatial Neglect (USN), an increasingly prevalent issue following stroke, requires specific rehabilitation methods in order to improve recovery. One “bottom-up” approach seeks to alter body perception using visual, vestibular and mechanical manipulation [1,2]. Another form of proprioceptive treatment that can easily be integrated into rehabilitation sessions without needing patient cooperation is Neck Mus Vibration (NMV).
Recent research demonstrated that NMV therapy effectively improved left side USN by directly stimulating neck muscles. It reduced neck disability, enhanced arm matching acuity, improved cervical joint position sense and increased pressure pain threshold threshold in ipsilesional neck muscles.
This study examined the effects of Neuromodulatory Vessel Stimulation (NMV) combined with transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on ipsilesional posterior parietal cortex of patients diagnosed with USN. Both NMV and tDCS interventions were applied during occupational therapy sessions over 3 weeks.
The results of the study demonstrated that NMV can bring immediate and long-term benefits for USN. More specifically, it has increased self-reported neck disability improvement rates as well as pressure pain sensitivity reduction rates.
Neck muscle vibration (NMV) is an inexpensive and clinically effective treatment for unilateral spatial neglect (USN). It increases neck mobility, improves arm-matching acuity, elevates cervical joint position sense and decreases pressure pain threshold in ipsilateral neck muscles – without needing the cooperation of participants – thus making NMV an attractive addition to current USN rehabilitation practices. Further research should also examine its integration into standard rehabilitation practice; additionally it would be important to evaluate its underlying neural mechanisms.
Improved blood flow
Vibration therapy not only reduces tension but also boosts blood flow and stimulates lymphatic drainage to speed up healing, promote a healthier recovery process and ease pain by breaking up scar tissue accumulation around muscles, ligaments and joints. It may even prevent further injuries by relieving pain-causing tension.
Vibration has also been shown to improve the function of the peripheral vascular system, which relays and distributes arterial blood throughout the body and returns venous blood back to its source through involuntary contraction of skeletal muscles; vibration has been found to enhance this process by speeding up their contraction rate.
Studies have been performed using oxygen saturation measurement as a quantitative means to gauge the improvement in blood circulation caused by neck vibration therapy. Results demonstrate that an increase in oxygen saturation rate indicates muscle perfusion, an indicator of improved circulation. For elderly and physically weak patients unable to participate in daily exercises, neck vibration therapy provides an easy, natural way of improving circulation without exertion or effort on their part.
Researchers conducted studies to measure the effects of neck vibration therapy. To do so, they constructed a model of head-neck oscillations combined with a computational blood flow and vibration model, and generated virtual head-neck vibration data for various degrees of carotid artery blockage. A computer vision algorithm then allowed researchers to compare virtual with real head-neck vibration captured on video footage and showed that this model has the ability to accurately estimate severity of carotid artery blockage. The results demonstrate this potential.
Twenty-eight patients suffering from chronic nonspecific neck pain were randomly divided into either a vibration group – which received 10 self-applied sessions of low frequency vibration therapy in the upper trapezius and levator scapulae trigger points – or a control group, who did not receive any treatment; then assessed after first, fifth, and tenth sessions reassessments were completed; these results demonstrated how vibration therapy significantly reduced self-reported neck pain, disability and pressure pain sensitivity in this population
Reduced tension
Vibration therapy is an easy and non-invasive way to ease tension in your neck and back. It increases muscle flexibility while strengthening ligaments that hold your spine together – all which reduce strain on vertebrae. Vibration therapy may also provide relief from physical activities like weightlifting or sports.
Neck pain may be caused by poor posture, injury or overuse. Chronic muscle injury may result in scar tissue formation that entraps and inhibits muscles’ performance, slowing your recovery process significantly. Vibration therapy aims to break down this scar tissue while simultaneously improving microcirculation to accelerate healing timeframe.
Vibration therapy has also been proven effective against certain injuries, such as spastic colon and fibromyalgia. Some studies even show it to help prevent muscle atrophy and osteoporosis; however, additional research must be completed in order to confirm these results.
While most studies on vibration therapy show positive results on muscle function, physical performance, patient mobility and balancing, bone density and pain perception, some series have produced different conclusions. This could be attributed to differences in devices (directionality (horizontal displacement, side-to-side displacement or vertical), amplitudes (displacements that create gravitational forces less than or equal 15g) or frequencies (5-90 Hz).
Vibration therapy offers many advantages for those suffering from spatial neglect, including not needing their cooperation for beneficial effects to be realized. A recent study demonstrated this point with neck muscle vibration alone producing lasting amelioration through daily 20-minute sessions on left posterior neck muscles over 10 consecutive days – this being particularly effective against impaired attention capacity issues that contribute to spatial neglect.
Researchers found that vibration treatment led to significant improvements in cervical position sense and arm-matching acuity, along with increases in pressure pain thresholds at stimulated places and decreases distally; improvements were stable during follow-up testing and led to an increase in both femoral neck bone density as well as lumbar spinal bone density.
Strengthened muscles
Vibration therapy allows your muscles to experience an overall body movement which stimulates muscle contraction. Furthermore, increased blood flow increases tissue healing time and decreases inflammation levels for faster healing times and reduced inflammation levels.
Vibration therapy is an excellent way to restore the soft tissues in your neck and back to their original state of functioning after injury or trauma has affected them. Scar tissue adhering to soft tissues restricting range of motion can create pain; vibration therapy loosens tightened tissues in spine joints by breaking adhesions up, decreasing stiffness and increasing flexibility.
Sitting for extended periods of time can result in poor posture, tight shoulders, shoulder pain and related symptoms such as Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI). RSI pain occurs because the muscles, ligaments and discs don’t get stretched enough during daily activity – vibration therapy offers a non-invasive, drug free solution to reduce this type of strain on your body and help protect you against future injury to the area.
Vibrations generated from a power plate will stimulate your muscles and ease aching joints, tendons, ligaments and nerves. They may also relieve tightness in your back and neck by helping relax tight muscles. Furthermore, vibrations increase oxygen delivery to muscles, thus speeding recovery after workouts much quicker.
Mile High Spine & Pain Center utilizes Power Plate equipment as part of our vibration therapy services, and when you step on it your entire body vibrates rapidly in response to vibrations emitted by this machine, allowing muscles to contract and relax quickly while also aiding recovery times. Professional athletes use similar methods of increasing performance and speeding recovery times with this method of therapy.
