Whole Body Vibration
The Benefits of Vibration Therapy
Whole-body vibration therapy is a therapy that uses a vibrating machine, often a vibration platform, to create a repetitive or vertical motion around a central point. For most people, vibration machines produce a minuscule movement as you perform static poses like stretching or dynamic exercises.
Vibrations generated by the machine are transferred to you, and your body naturally reacts in order to keep you stable, working out muscles and joints in an automatic fashion. It is always recommended that you use a proper machine from a well-known brand because the success of whole-body vibration exercise depends on the direction and intensity of the vibrations.
Adding vibration to your workout or therapy provides big benefits, because our muscle fibers and motor nerves respond more to vibrations than the deliberate muscle contractions that occur as you work out. Vibration platform machines allow people to experience both types of muscle exercises at once, helping to strengthen muscles and improve cardiovascular health.
Localized vibration can stimulate improvements in selected, small muscle groups. Generally, verticals vibrations are thought to be the most effective for generating the muscle contractions most beneficial to your health.
There are many different benefits of vibration therapy, and we’ll review just a few. Like any therapy, it is always a good idea to discuss it as a treatment with a doctor. If you want to include a vibration therapy machine in your current workout, we recommend a vibration platform because it adds stability and will help prevent any movement concerns. Be sure to pick the VibePlate platform that includes the safety features you’ll need to be safe as you get fit.
General Health BenefitsUsing a whole-body vibration machine as part of a comprehensive therapy regimen has been tied to a broad set of health benefits, backed by both research and stories from VibePlate customers.
Studies have even found that whole-body vibration exercises can increase bone density and promote neuromuscular adaptation — essentially the strengthening of muscle due to exercise — in some groups and situations.
Using a vibration therapy machine has been linked to benefits in some of the most important health aspects of our lives. It’s also used by professional athletes, physical therapists, trainers and rehabilitation centers and in military training. NASA is even testing vibration therapy as a way to help astronauts maintain bone density while they’re in space.
- Stronger muscles
- Increased bone mass
- Increased blood flow
- Increased flexibility
- Stimulate lymphatic system
- Healthier looking skin
- Decrease in cortisol levels
It’s also believed that Russian athletes used WBV therapy to improve performance for their Olympic athletes in the 1980s. While professional athletes have been using vibration for years to enhance performance, this therapy is beneficial for anyone at any age who is interested in improving their health.
Stronger Muscles:
As you sit or stand (always with knees at least slightly bent!) on the vibration plate, your muscles contract and relax 30 times each second. As your body works to regain stability, multiple muscle fibers become engaged in each movement, significantly amplifying the effectiveness of any movement performed on the plate. This is why doing squats on a vibrating plate requires so much more energy than doing them on the ground. To make the most of your time on the WBV plate, consider performing dynamic strength exercises like squats, push-ups, lunges, etc. The variation applied in different angles enhances the performance of the exercise by activating more muscle fibres which leads to muscle growth and increased muscle density.
Lower Blood Pressure:
Whole body vibration has been demonstrated to reduce hardening of the arteries in study after study, among populations ranging from men in their mid-twenties to postmenopausal women. In each study, the subjects' blood pressure was lowered significantly.
Stronger Bone Density:
WBV performed three times per week for 15 minutes has been shown to improve bone density, providing people with a drug free alternative to osteoporosis prevention, management and improvement.
Better Balance, Flexibility, Coordination:
During traditional exercise, muscles contract 1-2 times per second as opposed to 30 contractions per second while using a vibration machine. Standing, or better yet performing exercises, on the vibration plate engages your core and hip flexors to stabilize your body. This makes your body work harder and eventually, the muscles around the joints grow stronger. Over time, you’ll notice that your balance, coordination, posture, and flexibility have improved.
Increase Immunity and Stimulate Lymphatic System:
As muscles repeatedly contract and relax, the blood circulation in your body increases. Increased blood flow makes sure that your muscles are oxygenated, which speeds up the recovery process and rejuvenates the body. Improvement in blood circulation also leads to faster metabolic waste removal.
WBV therapy stimulates the lymphatic system causing an immune response in the lymph nodes, and giving the body better defenses against illnesses. WBV exercise also causes the lymph system to drain more efficiently, getting trapped fats and toxins on their way out of the body through the natural filters of the circulatory system. This is especially important for the aging body where lymph health is ever more vital to overall health.
Lower Cortisol Levels:
Cortisol is a stress hormone released by the adrenal glands. While cortisol is important for helping your body deal with stressful situations, when cortisol levels are too high for too long, this hormone can hurt you more than it helps. When cortisol levels remain high over an extended time they can cause weight gain and high blood pressure, disrupt sleep, negatively impact mood, reduce your energy levels, and contribute to diabetes.
You can even expect a few added benefits that are hard for science to measure. Many of our clients report feeling a warm, tingling sensation in their skin as they use a vibrating plate. This is due to vasodilation of the blood vessels, and it’s very pleasant. Recovery from workout and strains is a more positive experience, which can help you maintain a better attitude about exercise — helping it become a long-term habit.
Adding whole body vibration after a body contouring treatment helps facilitate metabolism and lymphatic drainage.
Start off slowly. Start with a 10-minute program, or even less since your body has been storing toxins for many years. The fluid movement generated by your WBV exercise program is going to stimulate your body to detoxify and remove unwanted fluid. As you slowly adapt you can add in another 10-minute session, or use the machine several times a day with up to three 20-minute sessions.