Vibration therapy is an exercise technique that uses mechanical vibrations to contract and relax your muscles, commonly used at gyms and physiotherapy services.
Clinical trials assessing the impact of whole-body vibration therapy for elderly have proven its efficacy. Some of them analyzed its impact on bone density in osteoporotic elders and postmenopausal women.
Lower Back Pains
Low back pain is a prevalent issue among elderly individuals and can be caused by many different factors, including preexisting medical conditions, inactivity, sedentary lifestyle and poor posture. Vibration therapy can provide relief by strengthening muscles and increasing balance. Furthermore, its increased blood flow improves oxygen and nutrition delivery to the muscles; helping reduce inflammation as well as release endorphins to alleviate any associated pain levels.
Furthermore, vibrations help improve muscle elasticity and strengthen joints in the lower body and neck – essential elements to combating osteoporosis and arthritis in later life – conditions which can cause serious and persistent back pain.
Numerous studies have borne witness to the efficacy of vibration technology for relieving back pain. One such research project conducted at Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Belgium involved randomly assigning 89 postmenopausal women aged 50 or above from two groups – WBV training or resistance training groups, performing WBV exercises three times weekly for 24 weeks while the resistance training group practiced dynamic leg extensions and leg press exercises throughout this timeframe. Researchers discovered that WBV training reduced disability and discomfort more efficiently compared with resistance training groups during this same timeframe compared with resistance training groups doing dynamic leg extensions and leg press exercises over 24 weeks than WBV did compared to resistance training groups during this same period – concluding that WBV training significantly less disability and discomfort in comparison to resistance training when used together over 24 weeks time period compared with dynamic leg extensions and leg press exercises during same duration (24 weeks vs resistance training group doing dynamic leg extensions/press exercises during 24 weeks of 24 weeks).
Another study utilized the same methodology to examine the effects of whole-body vibration exercise (WBVE) on pain, mobility, balance, proprioception, functional performance and quality of life for people suffering nonspecific chronic low back pain (NSCLBP). They searched Medline, CINAHL, Scopus and PEDro databases for RCTs with at least 50 participants evaluating WBVE for people living with NSCLBP; only including studies with high methodological quality levels as part of this evaluation process.
WBVE is a physical activity involving standing, sitting or lying on a vibrating platform for several minutes at 8-38Hz frequency – considered low. These frequencies and durations can be applied daily or weekly to stimulate primary muscle spindles that in turn activate alpha motoneurons that contact extrafusal muscle fibers for the trunk muscle stretch reflex response – helping decrease LBP by decreasing paravertebral muscle spasm.
Muscle Strengthening
Vibration therapy uses a device that produces vibrations through the body. The vibrations activate muscles and bones, increasing bone density and strength while simultaneously improving balance among older individuals. Furthermore, vibration therapy reduces falls. Falling can result in fractures to both hips and spines so strengthening muscles and bones to avoid these fractures is key – in addition to vibration therapy there are numerous therapies which may aid older people’s muscle and bone health.
Aging can result in loss of mobility, flexibility and strength that increases risk for falls and dependence on others. Whole-body vibration exercise – commonly referred to as vibration training, vibrotherapy or mechano-stimulation – offers one possible treatment to counter these declines by inducing short oscillations equaling one third of earth gravity on a vibration platform device that produces acceleration equaling this amount.
Vibration therapy increases bone mass, improves balance and builds muscle strength in older adults. Researchers are investigating its utility in managing degenerative bone diseases like osteoporosis and sarcopenia as well as improving gait and posture control among geriatric and postmenopausal women. Vibration therapy may also be combined with treatments like bone-modifying drugs, calcium and vitamin D supplements, physiotherapy or exercise to provide comprehensive health support.
Cabello et al. conducted a randomized clinical trial to investigate the effects of short-term full-body vibration training on bone density in geriatric population using 49 volunteers split between two groups; one received traditional physiotherapy while the other participated in vibration training three times weekly for 11 weeks on an exercise platform in squatting position for three times each week, then after this intervention performed bone density measurement with dual energy X-ray absorptiometry before and after intervention as well as hip and waist size measurement as static squat strength measurement as balance tests.
The results of the clinical trial were encouraging; whole-body vibration therapy demonstrated improvements to hip and abdominal size, decreased heart rate and enhanced balance and gait in elderly patients. Muscle strength measurements also improved, with increased isometric quadriceps strength as well as maximum leg extension and trunk flexion found from vibration therapy treatments.
Improved Balance
As people age, balance becomes an increasing concern. Balance issues may lead to falls that lead to injuries – causing significant amounts of pain, medical expenses and decreased quality of life for elderly individuals. Vibration therapy can help improve balance while simultaneously strengthening muscles to prevent falls and injury.
Vibration therapy entails either standing, sitting or lying down on a machine that emits mechanical vibrations through your body. These vibrations contract and relax muscles while sending signals that increase bone density due to exercise making your bones work harder, helping build strength over time. Some studies have found whole-body vibration therapy helps people with osteoporosis whereas it remains unclear if whole-body vibration therapy reduces risk of broken bones for those without this condition.
Studies show that vibration therapy can stimulate muscle spindles – small sensor-like receptors located on your muscles’ surfaces – to transmit signals back to your brain about how much your muscles are stretching or contracting, helping control how you move and balance. Vibrations also tend to make muscles contract or stretch at a quicker rate than usual, helping promote balance even further.
A randomized controlled trial published in December 2013 in Journal of Musculoskeletal Neuronal Interact demonstrated vibration therapy‘s effectiveness for improving elderly women’s balance ability. The research involved 68 participants randomly assigned either to vibration group or control group – vibration group received whole-body vibration therapy while control group participated in balance training and resistance exercises during that same timeframe. Results demonstrated vibration group’s superior performance on balance and gait tests than controls.
Researchers conducted another randomized clinical trial, where high-frequency whole-body vibration therapy (WBV) increased muscle mass among elderly individuals with sarcopenia. They noted that WBV increased limb strength and postural control in this population but stated further investigation is required to see how it can be utilized as either an independent intervention or combined with other therapies.
Better Blood Flow
Elderly people face many difficulties, including neuromuscular instability and balance problems (known as sarcopenia). This condition often results in falls that impose serious health, social, and economic costs on society as a whole. Vibration therapy provides a noninvasive yet effective solution to some of these challenges.
Whole-body vibration therapy (WBVT) is a form of biomechanical stimulation in which mechanical oscillations or vibrations generated from a platform device are applied directly to the body’s tissues, also known as vibrotherapy, vibration training and mechano-stimulation. WBVT has been utilized as an exercise technique by astronauts returning from long space missions as a form of exercise to increase bone mass density and strengthen their muscles.
An open randomized trial conducted in 2020 by researchers divided volunteers into two groups; the first underwent regular physical workouts while the other experienced controlled simulated vibration therapy for 16 weeks. Results demonstrated that vibrational treatment had a profoundly beneficial impact on elderly participants’ bodily functions – specifically balance and quality of life.
Vibrational therapy offers another advantage in strengthening bones without placing too much pressure on joints and ligaments, by providing anabolic mechanical signals which target the musculotendinous system, amplifying gap junctional communication in osteocytes, thus inhibiting excessive osteoclast formation.
Vibrational therapy has proven especially useful to elderly individuals as their bone metabolism and physiology change with age. Therefore, vibrational therapy serves to counteract progressive bone loss and deterioration that naturally comes with ageing.
