vibration plate exercises

Aging and Muscle Mass: Is There Really a Fountain of Youth?

August 29, 2015 by James Bogash

vibration plate exercises obesity — Vibration plate reviews on Amazon.com

As we age, the biggest challenge to quality of life and mobility is the loss of muscle mass.

Although diet, inflammation and adequate protein intake is important, exercise is the strongest tool against the age related loss of muscle mass (a term referred to as sacropenia).

For some reason though, the general population just doesn’t seem to have the motivation to move and maintain muscle mass. Maybe it’s pain. Maybe it’s just habit. Maybe it’s lack of motivation.

The end outcome is the same. Less activity breeds less activity and you end up spending the last portion of your years in a recliner watching TV as your health goes down the tubes.

But it absolutely does not have to be this way. It is a choice.

For those who have gone too far down the rabbit hole and have lost so much muscle mass that exercise seems impossible, there may be an answer.

Whole body vibration is a therapy that uses a plate that you stand on and then vibrates at varying frequencies. Initially, the research on vibration was focused on the dark side; occupational exposure from jobs like truck driving and jackhammering. Too much vibration is generally not a good thing.

But researchers realized that there were some strong benefits as well that cut across multiple organ systems. Building muscle, building bone, cutting fat, improving circulation, improving balance, improving movement disorders like Parkinson’s disease…and the list continues to grow.

There have been some very clear and consistent messages coming out of the medical research—vibration plate exercises are very good for building muscle mass. This approach could open up a brand new world of healthy aging for those who are stuck in the hole of inactivity.

Our office has had a whole body vibration unit for almost a decade now and the results have been interesting, to say the least. Parkinson’s patients. Post stroke patients. Patients who have lost weight and increased dexterity. Increased sense of well-being. All from any incredibly simple treatment that requires pretty much no effort on the part of the patient.

Just in case you think this sounds too good to be true, this particular article looks into what happens when vibration plate exercises are used to fight aging. Keep in mind that this is a small mouse study, but there is nothing here that would preclude the results from being similar in humans.

In the study, a group of 24 were divided into 3 groups: control, relatively low-frequency WBV (5.6 Hz, 2 mm amplitude) and relatively high-frequency WBV (13 Hz, 2 mm amplitude). The mice in the two vibration groups were treated for 15 min, 5 days/week for 4 weeks. Here’s what happened:

Muscle and brown fat percentage was higher in the higher frequency vibration group.
WBV increased grip strength, aerobic endurance and core temperature.
After a swimming challenge, serum lactate, ammonia and CK levels were lower with vibration (there was less muscle damage with exercise).
WBV training improved the age-related abnormal microscopic appearance of skeletal muscle, liver and kidney tissues.

As a reminder, this is a mouse study. That being said, the benefits from something that requires no actual effort on the part of the patient were pretty impressive. Impressive enough to begin your search for a decent vibration plate if you are at a point in your life where exercise has become difficult or even impossible.

You can spend outrageous amounts of money on a high quality vibration unit (like we did about a decade ago), but for most of us that’s not a viable option. Our office sells a very high quality unit from Ridge and Company that sells for $1500 (contact us if you have an interest). Amazon, who sells pretty much everything, has a large number of units available as well. But keep in mind that any unit that is priced under $500 or so it going to be a lower quality unit that you may not see the same benefits from.

Happy vibrating…

Whole Body Vibration to Build Muscle: Can it be this Easy?

April 23, 2014 by James Bogash

The research on vibration plate exercises continues to build. For those of you who have never used whole body vibration, it’s quite an experience.

In our office, the best way to describe vibration plate exercises is to have someone try the plate out for themselves. There really isn’t any adequate way to describe what happens. Either way, it’s unique.

The benefit of vibration exercise vary and some is more hype than reality. Fall prevention and muscle building (especially for the knees) top the list of benefits that have been demonstrated in the medical research. However, my personal belief has always been that vibration plate exercises were the most beneficial for those who were not active. That is why I have always considered it somewhat contradictory to have a whole body vibration unit in a health club.

This particular study, however, may expand my thoughts just a wee bit. Researchers looked at the hormone irisin and vibration plate exercises. Irisin, for those of you who did not know (and include myself as one of them), is a hormone released from muscle in response to exercise. It is believed that irisin then helps muscle rebuild stronger and fight off obesity and diabetes.

Irisin does this is by turning white fat (the lazy abdominal fat that contributes to diabetes, heart disease and cancer) into brown fat. Brown fat burns calories to produce heat. Generally a very good thing and it helps fight off diabetes and obesity.

Even more interesting relates to a blog post that I wrote a short while ago, relating the shivering response (basically keeping the room temperature at 60 degrees for 6 hours a day) to an increase in calorie burning from having more brown fat.

So what if the shivering response and vibration plate exercises produce the same response?? A very interesting line of thought and one that is supported by the research in this study.

In it, researchers put a group of healthy, untrained females through a 6-week program of whole-body vibration exercise training. Blood was checked before and right after a session of vibration plate exercises at the state of training and after 6 weeks. Here’s what they found:

Pre-exercise irisin levels were not different at the beginning of the study and after 6 weeks of training.
However, at the beginning of the study, after a vibration exercise session, irisin levels increased by 9.5%.
Even better, after 6 weeks of training, post-vibration exercise irisin levels increased 18.1%.

Much of this begins to make more sense. This brings together the research on vibration plate exercises and shivering / cold exposure and puts it under the umbrella of brown fat. Considering that most people would not want to expose themselves to shivering cold temperatures for weeks on end and that whole body vibration is a fun and easy therapy, it would seem that we have a better approach to management and prevention of obesity in vibration plate exercises.

Vibration Plate Exercises, Painful Diabetic Neuropathy and Falls

November 20, 2013 by James Bogash

vibration plate exercises in diabetics — Vibration plate reviews on Amazon.com

Quite a mouthful in just the title alone. There have been no shortage of studies on the benefits of vibration plate exercises lately, so I’ll keep this one short and to the point.

Now that we’ve had a higher-end whole body vibration unit in our office for 7 or 8 years now, I can certainly combine what I’ve seen in the office with what I’ve read in the medical literature. There are a few situations where vibration plate exercises shine brightly, and balance and fall prevention top the list. This is especially true when someone has a condition that will increase his or her risk of falling such as multiple sclerosis, advanced age, Parkinson’s disease or diabetes. For those of you who have never been on a whole body vibration unit before, it’s hard to describe. Truly a unique experience but the vast majority of patients who try it in our office like the ride.

The surprising benefits to patients who have used the vibration plate consistently range from increased balance to decreased tremors (Parkinsonian) and increased leg strength. Research supports these findings and they make sense. This particular article, like many others before it, bring together the benefits of fall prevention and pain improvement in diabetics who suffer from painful diabetic neuropathy.

It is a small study, but in just a single session of vibration plate exercises, these patients saw improvements in the Unilateral Stance Test, the Timed Up and Go Test as well as tibialis anterior muscle strength. From a single session.

In case this sounds familiar, this is probably because I wrote a recent blog article (that can be found by clicking here) on balance in diabetic patients using vibration plate exercises. This study upped the ante, looking at diabetics with painful diabetic neuropathy.

For those of you who don’t have a clinic nearby that offers vibration plate exercises, there are two options for you if you have a condition that whole body vibration is likely to help.

You can check out some of the whole body vibration units at Amazon.com by clicking here.
You can contact our office about ordering a unit from Ridge and Company. We have had this unit in our office for patients to try and the results have been good for the price of the unit (around $1500). Mention this blog post for a $100 discount when ordered through our office.

Simple Exercise for Chronic Stroke Shows Benefits

October 14, 2013 by James Bogash

The damage caused by a stroke can be life-changing and the road back challenging and not always completely successful. Anything that can help is important, especially if the answer is as simple as this.

Our office has had a high-end whole body vibration unit for many years, and over this time span I have seen some pretty remarkable things happen. From a Parkinson’s patient with dramatic improvements to athletes who went from unstable knees after an ACL repair to full stability in a handful of treatments. The research supports a benefit as well in such situations as increasing stability in the elderly at risk for falls, improving knee pain in the elderly, improving quality of life and mobility in multiple sclerosis patients and improving mobility in post stroke patients as well.

In general, I tell patients that, the less active you are (whether from choice or from a condition) the greater benefits you will achieve from vibration platform exercises.

This particular study, although small, adds weight to the benefits of the use of a whole body vibration platform in patients with chronic stroke. Here’s the details:

The vibration group performed both static and dynamic squat exercises on a vibration platform at frequencies of 35 and 40 Hz.
Treatment lasted 30 to 60 seconds, with 5 to 17 repetitions per exercise.
3 times weekly for 6 weeks.
The outcomes were evaluated based on muscle strength (both isometric and isokinetic) of quadriceps, hamstring strength, static and dynamic postural control and muscle spasticity.

So far it sounds pretty easy. Basically stand on a platform for about a minute, 3 times per week for 6 weeks, doing some easy squat exercises. This couldn’t possibly be worth anything, could it?

Compliance as excellent and both vibration frequencies of 35Hz and 40Hz were well-tolerated with no adverse effects.
The whole body vibration had improvements in isometric knee extension strength (knee angle 60°) and in isokinetic knee extension strength.
Postural control improved as well.
Muscle spasticity, however, was not affected by vibration.

Overall, the whole body vibration was not a game changer for these patients, but it clearly made a difference in these patients with chronic stroke, an arguably very difficult condition to get improvements from. It is also a therapy that could be administered far more frequently and for a much longer time frame if a home unit was purchased. Our office has a particular unit that we recommend that runs around $1750. Be careful with some of the lower priced units—they may not have the quality you’re going to need for long-term use.

Vibration Plate Exercises: 2 Reasons It’s Critical for Diabetics

August 8, 2013 by James Bogash

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As we age, many of us fear falling. I have heard plenty of horrifying stories of seniors who fell and were stuck somewhere in our around the house for hours until rescue. The feeling of helplessness is not good.

This fear can be even worse for diabetics due to poor sensation as well as painful diabetic neuropathy. In addition to a higher risk of falls, the potential damage from falling is greater in this group because of poor healing and ulcers that can result from any injuries sustained in the fall.

Just in case this scenario doesn’t sound scary enough, many of the medications used to treat painful diabetic neuropathy will actually further increase the risk of falls. Think gabapentin (Neurontin), pregabalin (Lyrica) and most antidepressants and pain medications. Pretty much covers all the drugs that diabetics use to control nerve pain.

Obviously, anything that can brighten the situation is a good thing. But what if a natural and safe intervention can lower the risk of falls AND help with painful diabetic neuropathy??

Enter the vibration plate machine, also known as whole body vibration. Our office purchased a higher end vibration plate machine way back in 2005, mainly because of this therapy’s positive track record on helping with bone density issues. Since this time the research has expanded (although many clinics offering whole body vibration promote it for things it is not really that good for like weight loss). Much of the research I have come across over the years can be found on our clinic’s whole body vibration page.

This particular study adds some depth to our previous understand of vibration plate exercises. We already have seen that whole body vibration can lower the risk of falls (this article can be read by clicking here).

In this small study, researchers put diabetics on a whole body vibration exercise program 3 times per week for 12 weeks. The results were pretty impressive:

Those in the control group had a worsening in balance (as measured by Center-of-Pressure, or COP, excursions) over the 12 week period with the eyes open.
The whole body vibration group? Better balance even with their EYES CLOSED. Pretty impressive.

So, to sum it up, not only is whole body vibration a safe treatment approach for almost all patients, but it:

Lowers the risk of falls in diabetics by improving balance and
Vibration plate exercises have been shown to lower the pain experienced by those with painful diabetic neuropathy.

For those of you who don’t have a clinic nearby that offers vibration plate exercises, there are two options for you if you have a condition that whole body vibration is likely to help.

You can check out some of the whole body vibration units at Amazon.com by clicking here.
You can contact our office about ordering a unit from Ridge and Company. We have had this unit in our office for patients to try and the results have been good for the price of the unit. Mention this blog post for a $100 discount when ordered through our office.

Good luck!

Can Vibration Plate Exercises Keep You Strong In Later Years?

June 19, 2013 by James Bogash

vibration plate exercises in seniors — Vibration plate reviews on Amazon.com

As a disclaimer, I need to tell you I’m a little biased. I have recommended vibration plate exercises in my office for about 7 years now.

For starters, there are some things that whole body vibration is not effective for. Ironically, when searching for a whole body vibration unit to purchase online, these “benefits” seem to be what is highlighted. Instead of starting a list, I think I can sum it up in one concept. The less you exercise, the more benefits you will get from vibration plate exercises. Pretty simple.

That means that hopping on the fitness vibration machine at your local gym in between workouts is probably a pretty big waste of your time. Which seems kind of funny since there was a large push to get whole body vibration units into gyms a few years back. There were also entire clinics devoted to vibration machine weight loss programs. Seemed like bad business decisions to me.

On the flip side, for those unable to exercise for whatever reason, vibration plate exercises can have dramatic results. Post stroke. Parkinson’s disease. Alzheimer’s dementia. Multiple sclerosis. Knee arthritis. Deconditioning due to age or a sedentary lifestyle. You get the idea.

There are a few exceptions to the above rule. The benefits of vibration can also include:

Do vibration plates work for bone health? There is some pretty positive research on bone health and osteoporosis. This research is actually what prompted me to buy my unit in the first place.
Vibration plate exercises will also increase blood flow to the brain, so those suffering with Parkinson’s disease, cognitive decline, migraines and dementia can see benefits.
Post injury or post-surgical rehab when stability is a concern, such as ACL-repair or a severe ankle sprain.
Increased blood flow into the legs during vibration exercises has been shown to help with diabetic neuropathy.

Getting back to the benefits of vibration plate exercises in those who are less able to exercise. In particular, the senior population. Granted, many are very active and would find little benefit to a fitness vibration machine. However, if a senior falls into the sedentary category, this particular study shines some light on the benefits.

Researchers looked at the use of whole body vibration plate exercises 3 times / week for 1 year in comparison to a resistance and aerobic fitness training regimen at the same frequency in seniors aged 60-80. Now, if any of you have been on a whole body vibration unit before you understand that it takes very little actual effort on your part. In this study, participants did do some leg exercises like squats while on the vibration plate.

Overall, the two therapies were equally as effective at maintaining muscle mass. Not too shabby considering that whole body vibration plate exercises can be done by those seniors who are no longer able to exercise as fully as some of their peers.