Vibration Therapy
Vibration Therapy, while a potent form of treatment in and of itself, is typically used in conjunction with traditional Physical and/or Manual Therapy. Vibration Therapy is defined as the performance of specific functional strengthening or flexibility exercises on a Whole Body Vibration platform. This groundbreaking technology, which involves an oscillating platform moving at specific frequencies across a given amplitude (distance) has been utilized since the 1960’s and has been CLINICALLY PROVEN to:
Increase Muscle Strength and Tone
Reduce Bone Density Loss
Improve Circulation & Muscle Flexibility
Improve Balance and Body Awareness (otherwise referred to as “proprioception”)
Improve Sports Performance
Improve Body Composition and Rate of Weight Loss
Improve Lymphatic System Mobility and the Resulting Reduction of Internal Toxicity
History
The use of vibration for therapeutic and performance enhancement purposes is nothing new. In fact, if you trace the use of vibration back in time, you wind up in Ancient Greece where cotton covered saws where used to transmit mechanical vibration to areas of the body that were deemed to be “working improperly”. Go forward to the late 1800s and you will find the use of vibration by the French neurologist Jean-Martin Charcot. Dr. Charcot utilized vibrating chairs to help individuals suffering from various neurological diseases. Continue forward to the late 1960’s and you arrive in the USSR, where Dr. Vladimir Nazarov used vibration technology for Russian athletes, dancers, and more importanly, the Russian Space Program. With his innovative ideas, he was able to reduce the deleterious effects of zero gravity on both the cosmonauts muscles and bones. It was no coincidence that Russian cosmonauts where able to stay in space 3x longer than their American and European counterparts during this period.
After the fall of the USSR, vibration technology proliferated throughout Europe where the first platform systems where built. There, it has been utilized and researched since the 1990s. A pubmed search brings up close to 150 clinical studies done with Whole Body Vibration technology! Presently, the use of vibration technology for rehabilitative and fitness purposes exists throughout Germany, Australia, New Zealand, France, Italy, and the UK. Now, finally, QUALITY Vibration Therapy equipment is available in the United States.
Contraindications
Unfortunately, Vibration Therapy is not for everyone. The list below contains relative contraindications for Vibration Therapy.
Please consult with your physician if you have any of these conditions.
- Acute Thrombosis (within the past 6 months)
- Bone Tumors
- Fresh Fracture (requires MD approval to begin)
- Fresh Implants or metal implants (pins, screws etc.) within the past 1 year (requires MD approval thereafter)
- Gallstones
- Kidney or Bladder Stones
- Neoplastic disease of the spine (i.e. multiple myeloma and invasion of the spine, metastasis to the
spine, osteosarcoma of a long bone, etc…)
- Pregnancy
- Pacemaker
- Severe Cardiovascular Disease
- Unhealed wounds from surgery
- Acute hernia or disc herniation*
- Cancer*
- Epilepsy*
- Severe Diabetes
- Active Migraine headaches
* these are relative contraindications and require MD approval
How It Works
The key to Vibration Therapy is what is referred to as the “Stretch Reflex”. This involuntary reflex is what occurs when the doctor hits your knee or elbow with a reflex hammer. As a result of the rapid stretch to the muscle tendon caused by the tap of the hammer (or in this case, the oscillating platform), the muscle contracts to oppose the stretch. Up until now, this reflex has been looked upon as a diagnostic tool only. Now, we are finally realizing that this built in reflex can be used for improving balance, developing strength and tone, combating bone density loss, and most importantly, allowing individuals to exercise safely with little to no stress on their bodies. By using proper vibration frequency, amplitude, and the resulting acceleration, the platform creates thousands of muscle contractions in a matter of minutes. These contractions occur in nearly 100% of the muscle. The result of this unbelievably high number of contractions is a wide array of benefits. These are described in detail in the “Benefits” section.