Vibration Platform Studies | Discover what science has to say about vibration plates
Vibration Platform Studies
Vibration platforms or vibration plates are not a new concept. However, most people are still skeptical about using it as they wonder if vibration plates actually work! This is why various researchers and organizations have studied vibration plates’ working mechanism and their effects on human health.
Vibration plates, also known as shaking platforms or shaking machines, are great for both homes and gyms to aid in various activities like exercises, muscle relaxation, and even treating some health conditions. There are numerous benefits that come with it, most of which are also backed by researches. Today, we’ll be looking at some of those researches and see if vibration platforms actually work. But first, let us look at some of the benefits that you get from using vibration platforms.
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Benefits of Vibration Platforms
Increases overall body strength
A Vibration platform is an excellent option for anyone who wants to increase their overall muscle strength. Since it is a low impact exercise, you won’t have to stress your body to increase your strength. And as such, it works as an amazing alternative to other strength training exercises that are usually high impact in nature.
Now, the fact that vibration platforms are low impact does not mean they are not as effective as other strength training exercises. They are just as effective since the acceleration in muscle contraction makes it up for the lost impact.
Helps tone the muscles
Besides increasing the strength, vibration platforms are also a great way to tone the muscles. Also, toning the muscles is just as easy as increasing your strength. All you have to do is hold certain positions so that you put extra pressure on the muscles you want to tone.
Standing on a vibration platform by slightly bending your knees will tone your legs. Likewise, doing some pushups or holding a plank position will tone up your upper body.
Basically, what vibration platform does is it simply takes your gym workout and exercises to the next level.
Helps in weight loss
One of the leading factors why most people go for vibration platforms is to lose weight. That’s right! Vibration platforms can also help you in your weight loss efforts if that is what you want. As a matter of fact, with proper diet and consistency, you will probably be able to reach your weight loss goals by exercising on a vibration plate for just 10 minutes a day.
The reason why vibration platforms help in weight loss is that it uses more energy by stimulating your muscles. When the energy you consume is less than the energy you burn, you start burning your fats.
Increased Flexibility
An increase in your body’s overall flexibility is another benefit of using a vibration platform. You can increase flexibility by performing some yoga poses or doing some stretches on a vibration platform. The accelerated contraction and relaxation of your muscles during those stretches will further loosen up your muscles and increase your range of motion.
Increased flexibility also comes with a lot of benefits in and of itself. For example, more flexibility means less risk for injuries, less pain, and better posture. It also improves your mobility and recovery time from injuries.
Improves blood circulation
Another amazing benefit of a vibration platform is that it is great for blood circulation. The regular use of vibration platforms will slowly increase blood circulation in your arms and legs, which will bring many more benefits to your body. For example, when you have better blood circulation, you heal faster from muscle-related injuries, improve oxygen supply, and eliminate lactic acid.
All these factors are very important and beneficial for when you work out and try to become leaner.
What Researches Have to Say
Here are some of the research that will give you a better insight into the vibration platform’s benefits.
It is important to note that researches on vibration platforms are very limited. And some of the researches that do exist are not conclusive on the effectiveness of vibration platforms. However, most of the researches are very trustworthy, so we’ll be looking at some of those today:
Study on Effect of Vibration Platforms on Blood Pressure
Research in 2012 studied how whole-body vibration training with vibration platforms could affect the blood pressure in young women who were either obese or overweight.
For this study, researchers invited ten young obese and overweight women to observe vibration training’s impact on their aortic systolic blood pressure.
The participants were randomized into two groups. One group received intensive vibration therapy for six weeks, and the other group did not receive any therapy. The first group receiving the therapy also performed some other exercises like calf raises and squats.
After the end of the program, the first group of women who received therapy witnessed a significant decrease in their blood pressure level than the other group. The main reason for this was the reduced stiffness in the artery, thanks to the 6-week training program.
The study concluded that whole-body vibration training could be a great option for overweight people and who cannot perform normal exercise.
While the study did not show the extent of its effectiveness, it is clear that vibration platforms and therapy do have some effect on blood pressure.
Study of Vibration Platforms on Strength Improvement
In the same study of 2012, researchers also conducted studies to see if vibration platforms could impact its participants’ strength besides blood pressure levels.
The researchers like the above study divided the women into two groups with one receiving vibration therapy and the other with no therapy. At the end of the six-week training, the women performing vibration exercise were able to perform leg extensions with an increase of 8.2kgs compared to the other group.
Again in another study in 2012, 44 healthy and young women received lower body vibration training for eight weeks. The training mainly focused on the thighs, buttocks, and abdominal areas of those women. At the end of the research, the study could only obtain data for 36 women.
However, those 36 women were able to improve their long jump scores by a good amount. The study also observed some changes in the women’s body lean mass and fat mass.
It came to the conclusion that an 8-week vibration body therapy can increase muscle strength while also inducing a positive change in the body’s composition.
The study also further states that vibration training can be an excellent addition to fitness programs that aim for weight loss.
Study of Vibration Platform on Body Composition
The use of a vibration platform also has a huge impact on a person’s body composition. A study by the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine tried to prove it, and the results were very promising.
In the study, a group of women performed vibration training two times a day for two weeks. Towards the end, the researchers observed a significant decrease in the overall body fat of those women.
In another study in 2016, researchers studied the effects of full body vibration therapy on body composition. The main purpose of the study was to observe the effectiveness of vibration exercise on body composition. It also aimed to determine the differences between aerobic exercise and vibration exercise.
For this study, the researches selected a group of obese middle-aged women and put them into three different groups:
- The first group consisted of women that were dieting only.
- The second group consisted of women that were dieting and also performing vibration training.
- The third group consisted of women that were dieting and also performing aerobic training.
At the end of the study, the researchers observed that all three groups of women had lost a certain amount of body fat. But the women in the second and third groups had lost much more fat than those women in the first group.
The study concluded by suggesting that performing vibration training along with proper diet can be as effective as high intensity aerobic exercises in improving a person’s body composition.
Study of Vibration Platforms on Human Gait
For those who do not know what a human gait is, it is a person’s way of walking. For most people walking may seem like a very simple thing to do. However, when you look at it technically, waling involves the right coordination and balance of the muscles in your body. But due to some disorders like arthritis, some people may develop an abnormal gait.
A study conducted in France aimed to show the impact of the vibration platform on human gait. The main goal of the study was to observe the long term effects of vibration training on the way humans walked.
For this research, the vibration training lasted for about four weeks, with around 859 studies. The research concluded after proving that vibration training can be effective in improving gait speed and balance in older people. It also observed an improvement in the gait of people who had been through strokes. People with knee osteoarthrosis also noticed an improvement in their walking performance.
However, the study did not observe any improvement in the gait quality of the elderly and patients with multiple sclerosis.
Despite the large findings, the results are not all conclusive, with a lack of data in certain parts of the study. And as such, there is a need for further research to find out the exact result.
Study of Vibration Platforms on Weight Loss
To observe the impact of vibration platforms on weight loss, a group of researchers did a recent study in 2019. In this study, the researchers collected data from 280 participants after separating them into two groups. The first group performed whole body vibration training, while the second group did not perform any exercise.
In the end, the study found that participants that performed vibration training lost a significant amount of body fat in just six months. But the participants from the other group did not lose any amount of fat percentage.
Thus, this study shows that vibration platforms can help you lose a significant amount of body fat when combined with a proper diet.
Study of Vibration Platform on Circulation
In the USA, the Loma Lind University conducted a study in 2007 to see if vibration platforms like Power Plate could help improve blood circulation. For the study, the researchers brought in 45 participants who were divided into three different groups.
The participants in the first group performed two types of static exercises- calf raises and squat on solid ground. The second group of participants did the same exercises on a vibration platform. And finally, the third group received three 60 seconds massages on their calf and arms on a vibration platform.
The researchers also measured the blood circulation of those participants just 10 minutes before and after the exercises.
The study found that the participants in the first two groups did not have any significant changes in their blood level. However, the participants in the third group that received calf and arm massages saw a rapid increase in their blood flow levels. It increased to a point where the blood circulation was much higher than any participants of the first two groups.
Hence the study concluded after observing that regular massages on vibration platforms can significantly increase the blood circulation in the arms and legs of a person.
Are Vibration Plates suitable for all users?
Vibration Platforms can be used by any healthy person… but also by certain users who suffer recurrent injuries if vibration training has been prescribed by a doctor. At the right frequency and intensity, the majority of muscle fibers (90%) will be worked by the reflex contractions and relaxations induced by the vibrations. It is important to know that conventional muscle training involves only about 45% of the muscles.
Due to the regular, repetitive and targeted tension that the vibration platform exerts on the body, vibration training allows you to reach your goals more quickly, if they are reasonable. If you expect the vibrating platform to give you a bodybuilding physique, go ahead and do it.
In addition, the vibration plates are ideal for healthy seniors who want to prevent the onset of osteoporosis. This user profile is advised to opt for a low-intensity elliptical vibration platform and to exercise twice a week for 5 minutes per session. If you want to know if you can use a vibration platform take a look at our who cannot use vibration plates article.
Conclusion
In today’s hectic world, a large number of the population leads an unhealthy lifestyle by sitting long hours in the office or working at home and traveling only by cars. Such a lifestyle can lead to many unwanted complications in your health. However, vibration platforms can be your solution to all these problems.
They are perfect for people who do not have the time or the ability to perform high impact workout. And from the studies above that back the numerous benefits of vibration platforms, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t get a vibration platform. Get started with your vibration training and reap the benefits now.
