Could whole body vibration exercises influence the risk factors for fractures in women with osteoporosis?

Abstract

ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to review the literature about the relevance of the whole body vibration (WBV) in decreasing the number of fractures in osteoporotic women.MethodsSearches were performed by three independent researchers through the PubMed and PEDro databases.ResultsOnly 0.1% of the publications with “Fracture and osteoporosis” have a relation with WBV exercise. The achievements have revealed a positive effect of this exercise in patients with risk factors for fractures like osteoporosis. Protocols were performed two to three times a week, from 6 up to 18 months, and with 12.6 up to 40 Hz as frequencies. Different tools were used to evaluate the effects of the WBV exercise in conditions that could cause fractures in postmenopausal women.ConclusionsAlthough the paucity of research regarding direct effects of WBV in decreasing fractures, WBV could be a feasible and effective way to modify well-recognized risk factors for falls and fractures, improvements in some aspects of neuromuscular function and balance. More studies have to be performed establish protocols with well controlled parameters.

A single whole body vibration session influences quadriceps muscle strength, functional mobility and balance of elderly with osteopenia and/or osteoporosis? Pragmatic clinical trial

“…The established vibration frequency was 16 Hz and the displacement peak (amplitude) of 4 mm was determined by the width of the platform participants' position. The vibration time was 30 s, being a series of eight repetitions with recovery (between the repetitions) of 30 s, whit a total time of 8 min of intervention [25].…”

Effect of the Combined Intervention with Passive Whole-Body Vibration and Auriculotherapy on the Quality of Life of Individuals with Knee Osteoarthritis Assessed by the WHOQOL-Bref: A Multi-Arm Clinical Trial

“…Parameters must be considered in the WBVE protocols [20][21][22][23][24] (e.g., frequency, peak-to-peak displacement-D, acceleration peak-a Peak , position, work and rest time and number of bout and sessions). Studies reported improvements in various clinical manifestations related to KOA after WBVE [23,25,26], including the decrease of pain levels, improvements of muscle strength and flexibility, and reduction of number of falls [27][28][29][30][31][32].…”

Effects of Whole-Body Vibration Training Combined With Cyclic Hypoxia on Bone Mineral Density in Elderly People

“…This type of activity, which can be generated with different platforms (vertical, rotational or lateral modes) (McMillan et al, 2017) generates forces that are transferred to the weight-bearing bones of the skeleton as done by other exercise modalities (Cheung and Giangregorio, 2012). So, WBV exercises could have beneficial effects associated with bone formation and the neuromuscular and cognitive functions, reducing the risk of falls and fractures (Moreira-Marconi et al, 2016; Bemben et al, 2018). However, several authors reported conflicting results due to the variety of protocols used (Marin-Puyalto et al, 2018).…”