Effect of a vibration exposure on muscular performance and body balance. Randomized cross‐over study

Abstract

This randomized cross-over study was designed to investigate the effects of a 4-min vibration bout on muscle performance and body balance in young, healthy subjects. Sixteen volunteers (eight men, eight women, age 24-33 years) underwent both the 4-min vibration- and sham-interventions in a randomized order on different days. Six performance tests (stability platform, grip strength, isometric extension strength of lower extremities, tandem-walk, vertical jump and shuttle run) were performed 10 min before (baseline), and 2 and 60 min after the intervention. The effect of vibration on the surface electromyography (EMG) of soleus, gastrocnemius and vastus lateralis muscles was also investigated. The vibration-loading, based on a tilting platform, induced a transient (significant at the 2-min test) 2.5% net benefit in the jump height (P = 0.019), 3.2% benefit in the isometric extension strength of lower extremities (P=0.020) and 15.7% improvement in the body balance (P = 0.049). In the other 2-min or in the 60-min tests, there were no statistically significant differences between the vibration- and sham-interventions. Decreased mean power frequency in EMG of all muscles during the vibration indicated evolving muscle fatigue, while the root mean square voltage of EMG signal increased in calf muscles. We have shown in this study that a single bout of whole body vibration transiently improves muscle performance of lower extremities and body balance in young healthy adults.

Immediate effects of whole body vibration on patellar tendon properties and knee extension torque

“…This is further supported by other publications with comparable vibration settings (3-to-10 times 60-second periods of isometric squatting at 70-to-50° of knee flexion; vibration frequency: 30 Hz; vibration amplitude: 4-8 mm), reporting decreases in muscular strength after a single session of WBV (de Ruiter et al 2003;Erskine et al 2007;Jordan et al 2010) Conversely, some authors have reported strength increases immediately after WBV (Bosco et al 1999;Bosco et al 2000;Mc Bride et al 2010). However, this phenomenon only seems ephemeral, as suggested by its disappearance after a few minutes (Stewart et al 2009;Torvinen et al 2002). This brief increase is often ascribed to post-activation potentiation and seems short-lived after exercise (Güllich and Schmidtbleicher 1996).…”

“…For instance, authors observed gains in jump performance (Bosco et al 2000;Colson and Petit 2013) and lower body strength (Mc Bride et al 2010;Stewart et al 2009;Torvinen et al 2002) but others failed to see any improvement in muscular function (Kelly et al 2010;Yeung et al 2014) or even found reductions in maximum torque following a single WBV intervention (de Ruiter et al 2003;Erskine et al 2007;Jordan et al 2010). These inconsistent findings are often explained by differences in vibration parameters or by the time elapsed between the WBV session and the measurements (Stewart et al 2009;Torvinen et al 2002). Whilst these hypotheses may hold true, another methodological pitfall may be related to the influence of vibration on musculotendinous mechanical properties.…”

Determining the Optimal Whole-Body Vibration Dose–response Relationship for Muscle Performance

“…Thus, research has focused on finding the optimal combination of these variables to reach maximal muscular response. For this purpose, frequency, amplitude, and duration were the main parameters analyzed (1,4,20,23,35,37).…”

Whole-Body-Vibration–Induced Increase in Leg Muscle Activity During Different Squat Exercises

“…This response is mediated by monosynaptic and polysynaptic pathways and results in increased motor unit activation (6,15). Several studies showed that whole-body vibration (WBV) training, in which subjects perform unloaded exercises on a vibrating platform, resulted in improved muscle strength or muscle performance (3,11,19,20,24,25). Some other studies reported no changes in muscle strength after WBV training (9,10).…”