Vibration Platform Training in Women at Risk for Symptomatic Knee Osteoarthritis

Abstract

Objective To determine whether a platform exercise program with vibration is more effective than the platform exercise alone for improving lower limb muscle strength and power in women age 45-60 with risk factors for knee osteoarthritis (OA). Design Randomized, controlled study Setting Academic center Participants 48 women age 45-60 years old with risk factors for knee OA (history of knee injury or surgery or BMI≥25kg/m2). Interventions Subjects were randomized to a twice weekly lower limb exercise program (quarter squat, posterolateral leg lifts, calf raises) on either a vertically vibrating (35Hz, 2mm), or a non-vibrating platform. Main Outcome Measurements The main outcome measures included change in isokinetic quadriceps strength, leg press power, and stair climb power by 12 weeks. Results 39 out of 48 enrolled participants completed the study (26 vibration and 13 control exercise). Nine participants discontinued the study after randomization mainly due to lack of time. There were no intergroup differences in age, BMI, or activity level. Isokinetic knee extensor strength did not significantly improve in either group. Leg press power improved by 92.0±69.7 W in the vibration group (p<.0001) and 58.2±96.2 W in the control group (p=0.0499), but did not differ between groups (p=0.2262). Stair climb power improved by 53.4±64.7 W in the vibration group (p=0.0004) and 55.7±83.3 W in the control group (p=0.0329), but did not differ between groups (p=0.9272). Conclusions Whole body vibration platforms have been marketed for increasing strength and power. In this group of asymptomatic middle-aged women with risk factors for knee OA, addition of vibration to a 12-week exercise program did not result in significantly greater improvement in lower limb strength or power than participation in the exercise program without vibration.

Effects of Whole-Body Vibration and High-Impact Aerobic Training on Bone Metabolism and Body Balance in Premenopausal Women

“…WBV can be separated into two training stimuli: the reflex muscle contraction induced by vibration, and the body-weight exercise performed on the platform. As reported by previous studies [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17], the WBV stimulus is well-tolerated by both younger and older female subjects, and no adverse side effects have been reported. WBV at 25-45 Hz appears to be a safe and effective mode of enhancing muscular strength in variety of populations [3].…”

“…Actually, it is very difficult for subjects who had an occupation to check and control their diet in detail. Despite the above limitations, a major strength of this study is that we revealed the effects of WBV and HIA on bone metabolism not in postmenopausal women, as previously reported [3,6,8,[10][11][12][13][14], but in premenopausal women [15][16][17].…”

“…WBV is new type of exercise that has been mainly reported in terms of its ability to increase bone mass [10][11][12], or fall-related neuromuscular parameters [6,10,12,13] and thus help to prevent bone fractures and osteoporosis in frail people. The effect of vibration on bone mass appears to be dependent upon the vibration characteristics (method of application, amplitude, and frequency) and exercise protocols (training type, intensity, and volume) employed [17,25].…”

“…One potentially effective lifestyle approach for achieving this goal is exercise, which is a low-cost, nonpharmacologic intervention that is available to the vast majority of the population. Whole-body vibration (WBV), defined as exercise performed with the body in contact with a vibrating platform, is new type of exercise that has been increasingly performed to prevent bone fractures and osteoporosis mainly in frail people [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14]. WBV can be separated into two training stimuli: the reflex muscle contraction induced by vibration, and the body-weight exercise performed on the platform.…”

“…Other studies have reported the effects of resistance training [3], physical therapy [5], or routine exercise [2,7,9,11] with or without WBV. Most of them reported effects of WBV that were superior or equal to those of the other training.…”