Whole-body Vibration Training

Whole-body vibration training is experiencing a renaissance in the health and fitness field. Facilities exclusively offering WBV exercise plans are sprouting up in large cities. Most large box health clubs offer either classes utilizing WBV or at least have one or more devices available to members. There are also varies devices for sale for personal home use.

The idea of vibration treatments for various ailments goes back to ancient Greece. Though more recently the 1990’s saw significant interest as NASA experimented with WBV as a way to keep astronauts in zero gravity from losing bone density and muscle mass. Claims of all sorts of benefits have since abounded.  Claims such as weight lost, muscle and strength gains, improved metabolism, reduced inflammation, decrease the symptoms of type 2 diabetes, improve aerobic capacity among others. Sounds great, but what is WBV actually?

Whole-Body Vibration

There are two main types of vibration treatment LIV which is a Low Intensity Vibration and WBV which is what you would find in a gym. During a session you would perform a series of exercises while standing, lying, or placing hands on the platform. An example the exercises would be squats, push-ups, crunches, a plank, etc. The machine will begin to vibrate (actually, horizontal or vertical oscillations depending on the device used). The variables are frequency, magnitude, direction, acceleration, duration and body position. These vibrations cause your muscles to reflexively contract and relax in response until the stimulus stops. These reflexive actions are what are thought to induce muscle and bone growth, increase metabolism as well as other metabolic activities.

Pros of WBV

Numerous studies have been conducted in an attempt to validate various benefit claims. For instance, in a study published in January 2018 on the NIH website researchers found that WBV significantly increased the metabolic cost of exercise, meaning a significant increase in caloric expenditure.  In another study from the Medical College of Georgia found that WBV increased healthy gut bacteria 17 fold and decreased gut inflammation in diabetic subjects while also improving metabolism. A review of WBV studies from 2019 found significant fat loss as a result. Other studies have shown significant strength gains in 8 weeks of WBV training. A 2012 study showed a decrease in blood pressure in as little as 6 weeks of use.

Cons of WBV

Unfortunately several of the studies exhibiting bone density increases were done on rats not human beings.  Others show contradictory results. Where some show significant change in bone mineral density, others show no change at all. A 2011 yearlong study of 202 postmenopausal women found no differences in the WBV group over the control groups. Still there may be enough evidence that WBV may slow the progression of osteoporosis. A 2019 review of studies concerning weight loss has concluded that though there was a significant reduction of body fat, the percentage of body fat was unchanged. Still another study found that 24 weeks of WBV did not result in weight loss, reduction of total body fat or subcutaneous fat. There was an increase is strength and muscle size similar to traditional exercise. In addition there are several contraindications/warnings for various persons considering WBV. A 2013 study posted on the NIH medical website found that some devices exceeded International Standards Organization safety limits by sevenfold.

Contraindications

WBV should not be used by those who are experiencing any of the following: back pain, recent fracture, soft tissue injury, joint inflammation, kidney stones, epilepsy, pregnancy, seizures, cancer, wearing a pacemaker, heart disease, severe diabetes,  or migraine. This is a partial list.

Conclusion

The known benefits, improved metabolism, decreased inflammation, better gut health and increases in muscle strength may be enough for some to tryout WBV provided you don’t have any contraindications. For those without said concerns and who are not conditioned well enough for intense exercise, performing the exercises on the platform will increase your caloric burn over doing the exercises static. If you are healthy and already at a good level of fitness, I would personally recommend using the time doing HITT. High intensity interval training is hard to beat for fat loss, muscle building and cardiovascular conditioning.  

References:

Ncbi.nim.nih.gov – Metabolic effects of bodyweight whole-body vibration

Pubmed.ncbi.nim.nih.gov – Effects of 24 weeks of whole body vibration training

Medicalnewstoday.com – Whole-body vibration changes the microbiome

Healthline – do vibration machines work for weight loss?

Healthline – Should you use a vibration plate for osteoporosis?

Drweil.com Vibration machines: shake for bone strength

Womenshealth.obgyn.msu.edu – whole-body vibration devices give no bone density boost

Melioguide.com - Whole-body vibration therapy contraindications

Ncbi.nim.nih.gov – Safety and severity of accelerations delivered from whole-body vibration

Researchgate.net – Contraindications for use of vibration training