Category: whole body vibration

Sports Science, Vibration exercise, whole body vibration

Twenty years from the the first paper

Recently, I have been tidying up files on old hard drives to move the files to cloud based storage in order to have easier access and reduce cluttering. Going back to old files brings back lots of memories and it is a good exercise in learning back about the development and activities I did in my career/life so far. Old pictures appear and old manuscripts written and never submitted also show up. Finally, old analysis files, notes, correspondence reminds you of many hours spent discussing/debating/working on various projects with many people. Working in Sport and Science gave me tremendous opportunities to meet really clever people and learn from them. One of them was my old mentor Prof. Bosco. It is amazing how many things which are now relevant in the sports science industry were introduced by him in the 90s and still stand strong. One of the many realisations of going through old files was that our first paper on whole body vibration was published 20 years ago. Yes 20! I was at the beginning of the PhD journey and this was one of the first projects conducted with the team I was coaching at the time.

The paper was published on Biology of Sport, and I had the help of some great people to make sense of the data and improve the writing to make it good enough to be accepted and published. The article is here, and I still treasure the notes/comments of Professors Josefz Tihanyi and Atko Viru both working with Prof. Bosco at the time on various collaborative efforts to understand better many aspects of strength training.

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This paper was the beginning of a series of efforts to understand more about the possibility to use vibration as an exercise intervention, and it was a follow-up to the work performed by Vladimir Issurin on segmental applications in athletes. I still remember the pride of the first acceptance letter. I also remember the sudden interest this experimental modality (at the time) raised in the sporting and academic World. Since then, hundreds of papers have been published on this topic by many research groups around the World and most seem to suggest that our intuition of using such modality to improve strength in various populations was not far-fetched. Sadly, marketing has got in the way with many commercial interests which have somehow impaired the development of such modality in my view, rather than exploiting better applications and safer guidelines. Also, it is kind of gone out of fashion and replaced by “newer” modalities. I do see in fact in many places I visit (gyms, hotels, fitness centres) some vibration platforms in corners mostly unused. It is sad to notice that young practitioners don’t seem to be interested in the applications of vibration anymore, however I am still convinced that there is still plenty of scope for its use not only in Sport but also to help various populations as evidenced by my work with colleagues at the Italian Auxology Institute. Finally, there is a lot of potential for applications in rehabilitation and for the elderly.

I remember the beginnings, when speaking at conferences I met loads of skeptics (lots of heads shaking in my first few talks at conferences) and had quite a few grant applications turned down. Things got better later on in my career (but funding agencies don’t seem to like non-pharmacological interventions…). However, fact is that 20 years from that paper, there is now a scientific community studying vibration and successfully showing what works and what does not work. Many still trying to figure out the exact mechanisms. The number of papers has exponentially increased, and while I marginally contribute to that literature still as my interests have changed, I am proud to have been part of the “pioneers” which started the scientific debate and evolution which for sure is providing some patients and sports people with another avenue to improve performance and quality of life. On the other end, what I am less proud of, is the fact that an industry of gurus and pseudo experts developed as a consequence of the work done by many institutions which have “confused” the end users rather than improving the outcomes and have barely invested in the scientific developments. This is similar to many other “industries’ in the sporting/fitness World where “experts” tend to appear and disappear when commercial gains become available and/or disappear. But that’s a topic for another post…as now it is time to be grateful for the journey which started with that paper 20 years ago under the mentorship of some of the greatest sports scientists in history.

 

Vibration exercise, whole body vibration

Vibration exercise is it all good?

Vibration exercise is now becoming very popular. Plenty of coverage in fitness magazines and websites has now created a lot of interest in this innovative training technology. Many companies now advertise vibration exercise devices and describe the effectiveness of such devices with a lot of emphasis. Unfortunately, not all the information presented is actually true and many make absurd claims on the effectiveness of this technology.

I devoted many years of my career to understand how to make best use of vibration as an exercise intervention for various populations (from the Olympic Athlete to the aged individual) performing many scientific studies published in international peer-reviewed journals. Unfortunately many companies use my articles and some published my some colleagues to advertise their equipment. A warning to everyone reading this: Make SURE you carefully read the article’s methods section and identify the equipment used in the research studies on various websites! In fact you will find out that were not performed using the equipment advertised.

This is the first of a series of articles aimed at explaining what vibration is and what are the REAL effects of vibration exercise.

First of all, let’s define what is vibration.

Vibration is a mechanical stimulus characterized by an oscillatory motion. The biomechanical parameters determining its intensity are the frequency, amplitude and magnitude. The extent of the oscillatory motion determines the amplitude (peak to peak displacement, in mm) of the vibration. The repetition rate of the cycles of oscillation determines the frequency of the vibration (measured in Hz). The acceleration determines the magnitude of the vibration.

You can download this useful calculator to find out how much acceleration is transmitted to the body by a vibrating object if you know the frequency and amplitude (https://www.ctconline.com/__vibration_calc.aspx)

Low amplitude, low frequency mechanical stimulation of the human body has been shown to be a safe and effective way to improve skeletal muscle strength and power in healthy individuals. In fact, improvements in muscular strength and power in humans exercising with specially designed exercise equipment have been reported following acute and chronic exposure (Cochrane et al. 2004;Cochrane and Stannard, 2005;Bosco C et al. 1998;Issurin VB and Tenenbaum G, 1999;Bosco C et al. 1999a; Cardinale and Wakeling, 2005;Bosco et al. 2000; Torvinen et al. 2002b). In particular, the effects of whole body vibrations have been studied with subjects exercising on specially designed vibrating plates producing sinusoidal vibrations (e.g. Bosco C et al. 1998; Torvinen et al. 2002b). The exercise devices currently available on the market deliver vibration to the whole body by means of oscillating plates using two different systems: 1) reciprocating vertical displacements on the left and right side of a fulcrum, 2) the whole plate oscillating uniformly up and down.

Whole body vibration (WBV) exercise devices deliver vibrations across a range of frequencies between 15 Hz and 60 Hz and displacements from less than 1 mm to 14mm. The acceleration delivered from those devices reaches values up to 15g (where 1g is the acceleration due to the Earth’s gravitational field or 9.81 m•sec-2). Considering the numerous combinations of amplitudes and frequencies possible with current technology, it is clear that there are a wide variety of WBV protocols that could be used to exercise humans. In addition, vibration has also been added to conventional exercise pulley-like equipment (Cochrane and Stannard, 2005; Issurin VB and Tenenbaum G, 1999) and/or specially designed vibrating dumbbells (Bosco et al. 1999) producing low-frequency vibrations to be able to exercise the trunk and the upper limbs.

The use of WBV as an exercise intervention is not a novel idea. In fact, in the early 20th century a vibratory chair was used to cure headaches and back pain in the Battle Creek Sanitarium. Furthermore, in 1912 Snow presented in his book “Mechanical Vibration” (Available online at http://www.meridianinstitute.com/eamt/files/snow/mvcont.htm) a series of devices and procedures able to produce beneficial effects on the human body. Furthermore, early work by (Whedon GD et al. 1949) reported some positive effects of oscillating beds on plaster-immobilized patients.

Only later, vibration was adopted in the preparation of elite athletes by Russian scientists who developed specific devices to transmit vibratory waves from distal-to-proximal links of muscle groups, mainly while performing isometric exercises (Nazarov V and Spivak G, 1985). Since then, a lot of devices have been developed and are currently marketed to provide different forms of vibration exercise to different users.

Vibration exercise, whole body vibration

Vibration exercise is it all good?
Vibration exercise is now becoming very popular. Plenty of coverage in fitness magazines and websites has now created a lot of interest in this innovative training technology. Many companies now advertise vibration exercise devices and describe the effectiveness of such devices with a lot of emphasis. Unfortunately, not all the information presented is actually true and many make absurd claims on the effectiveness of this technology.
I devoted many years of my career to understand how to make best use of vibration as an exercise intervention for various populations (from the Olympic Athlete to the aged individual) performing many scientific studies published in international peer-reviewed journals. Unfortunately many companies use my articles and some published my some colleagues to advertise their equipment. A warning to everyone reading this: Make SURE you carefully read the article’s methods section and identify the equipment used in the research studies on various websites! In fact you will find out that were not performed using the equipment advertised.
This is the first of a series of articles aimed at explaining what vibration is and what are the REAL effects of vibration exercise.
First of all, let’s define what is vibration.
Vibration is a mechanical stimulus characterized by an oscillatory motion. The biomechanical parameters determining its intensity are the frequency, amplitude and magnitude. The extent of the oscillatory motion determines the amplitude (peak to peak displacement, in mm) of the vibration. The repetition rate of the cycles of oscillation determines the frequency of the vibration (measured in Hz). The acceleration determines the magnitude of the vibration.
You can download this useful calculator to find out how much acceleration is transmitted to the body by a vibrating object if you know the frequency and amplitude (https://www.ctconline.com/__vibration_calc.aspx)
Low amplitude, low frequency mechanical stimulation of the human body has been shown to be a safe and effective way to improve skeletal muscle strength and power in healthy individuals. In fact, improvements in muscular strength and power in humans exercising with specially designed exercise equipment have been reported following acute and chronic exposure (Cochrane et al. 2004;Cochrane and Stannard, 2005;Bosco C et al. 1998;Issurin VB and Tenenbaum G, 1999;Bosco C et al. 1999a; Cardinale and Wakeling, 2005;Bosco et al. 2000; Torvinen et al. 2002b). In particular, the effects of whole body vibrations have been studied with subjects exercising on specially designed vibrating plates producing sinusoidal vibrations (e.g. Bosco C et al. 1998; Torvinen et al. 2002b). The exercise devices currently available on the market deliver vibration to the whole body by means of oscillating plates using two different systems: 1) reciprocating vertical displacements on the left and right side of a fulcrum, 2) the whole plate oscillating uniformly up and down.

Whole body vibration (WBV) exercise devices deliver vibrations across a range of frequencies between 15 Hz and 60 Hz and displacements from less than 1 mm to 14mm. The acceleration delivered from those devices reaches values up to 15g (where 1g is the acceleration due to the Earth’s gravitational field or 9.81 m•sec-2). Considering the numerous combinations of amplitudes and frequencies possible with current technology, it is clear that there are a wide variety of WBV protocols that could be used to exercise humans. In addition, vibration has also been added to conventional exercise pulley-like equipment (Cochrane and Stannard, 2005; Issurin VB and Tenenbaum G, 1999) and/or specially designed vibrating dumbbells (Bosco et al. 1999) producing low-frequency vibrations to be able to exercise the trunk and the upper limbs.

The use of WBV as an exercise intervention is not a novel idea. In fact, in the early 20th century a vibratory chair was used to cure headaches and back pain in the Battle Creek Sanitarium. Furthermore, in 1912 Snow presented in his book “Mechanical Vibration” (Available online at http://www.meridianinstitute.com/eamt/files/snow/mvcont.htm) a series of devices and procedures able to produce beneficial effects on the human body. Furthermore, early work by (Whedon GD et al. 1949) reported some positive effects of oscillating beds on plaster-immobilized patients.
Only later, vibration was adopted in the preparation of elite athletes by Russian scientists who developed specific devices to transmit vibratory waves from distal-to-proximal links of muscle groups, mainly while performing isometric exercises (Nazarov V and Spivak G, 1985). Since then, a lot of devices have been developed and are currently marketed to provide different forms of vibration exercise to different users.