The positive vibes of whole body vibration

“That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” These golden words spoken by Neil Armstrong came to light when he first stepped on the moon and will be forever etched into human history. Well! This was, of course, one giant step for mankind but a huge setback for the astronaut himself. Want to know why?

It was first discovered by Russian scientists in the second half of the 20th century that their cosmonauts suffered from significant muscle and bone density deterioration because of the zero gravity conditions in outer space. A question then arose: why should the astronauts and cosmonauts who take humanity leaps and bounds forward in terms of technology suffer by being turned to a vegetative state when they get back to their home planet?

The apt solution was once again given by the scientists of Russia who developed an amazing concept of Whole Body Vibration (WBV). This brought back the cosmonauts to normalcy in terms of body mass and weight when they landed back on Earth. The use of WBV on spacemen produced astounding results. They were able to survive up to 420 days in outer space as opposed to the American spacemen, who could barely withstand the 120-day period. Do we know that this therapy can serve not only astronauts but also common people like us in innumerable ways? 

What is WBV?

In this form of therapy, one is exposed to a vibrating platform in a standing, sitting, or squatting position. This vibrating platform induces oscillations of a given amplitude and frequency in the human body which forces the muscles to contract and relax. As a result, the individual, especially under medical supervision, is supposed to gain immense health benefits.

What are the benefits of WBV?

In the past 20 years, these vibrating platforms have already found their way into performance centres and universities throughout the United States and are gaining immense popularity in the medical field. Gymnasiums have also been using this notion to cater to people with obesity.

WBV for ICU patients: Generally, patients in the ICU are subjected to physical weakness thus affecting their mobility. These individuals undergo high mental trauma and reduced quality of life.

According to a research paper, WBV is a new approach to treating these people and can be a saviour to them. It gives them effective muscle training thereby treating muscle wastage that is weakening, shrinking, and loss of muscle caused by a critical condition.

The study, which was approved by the Marburg Ethics Committee, was conducted on 12 intensive care unit patients and 12 normal healthy individuals.

These subjects underwent WBV to check the safety of the treatment and also get their physiological parameters like blood pressure, heart rate, etc., measured.

Outcome: The safety and feasibility of conducting WBV on critically ill patients was indeed a great success. Patients who were immobile and who could not avail
physiotherapy were treated effectively according to this study.

WBV for people with Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD): According to medical professionals, physical exercise is very important to manage this highly prevalent disease named Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease.

This disease puts the liver, which is a very important organ of our body, in high danger. But daily exercise is not feasible for all which may include several reasons like fatigue, insufficient time, etc. As renowned physicians suggest, WBV can be a novel alternative for the treatment of this disease.

The oscillations caused in the body due to a brief exposure to the vibrating platform can benefit patients who are unable to do physical exercises.

A study was conducted by an outpatient department at The University of Tsukuba Hospital, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan between January 2014 and December 2016 to evaluate the effectiveness and usefulness of WBV in the treatment of NAFLD patients. The outcome of this study was positive. The study proved that WBV is indeed an exercise option for patients with NAFLD that is effective, efficient, and convenient.

WBV for people with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD): COPD is a lung disease that causes obstructed airflow from the lungs.

WBV proved to be effective for patients with this problem.

Study conducted: A study was conducted at the Schoen Klinik Berchtesgadener Land (Schoenau am Koenigssee, Germany) between May 2013 and May 2015 to evaluate how effective is this vibration therapy in individuals with COPD.

Outcome: The result of the study revealed that WBV training is a feasible and safe modality even in patients with severe COPD.

WBV for geriatric age group: People who fall in the geriatric age group, that is, people who are above 65 years of age, tend to be more vulnerable to frailness. Though exercise is a must for all, elderly people, due to several physical problems, may be inclined to adopt a sedentary lifestyle. This may adversely affect their physical health. Here comes WBV to their rescue. According to various research programmes, this therapy not only improves their quality of life but also enhances their functional mobility. 

To cut a long story short, WBV has been advocated for improvement in physical functions like muscle power and control as well as muscle strength.

Also, several specific conditions like sarcopenia, osteopenia, stroke, Parkinson’s disease, low back pain, etc., can be treated by this therapy. 

Though this therapy is new, it is awaiting worldwide acceptance for its use in clinical applications.

(Dr A J Rajendran is a senior consultant and clinical lead of the Department of rehabilitation medicine in a Chennai-based hospital while Sripriya Satish is a writer.)