The Curious Introduction of Body Vibration Exercise

It was a Sunday when I was looking through NIH (National Library of Medicine) when I found an article, Aquatic Therapy Versus Land-Based Therapy in Patients with Parkinson's Disease: A Systematic Review, which stood out because I had never heard of aquatic therapy before. We won't be going into depth on this topic (but feel free to take a quick, or a long one if you'd like, look at it). As I was looking at similar articles, I came across an even more eye-catching one: Impact of Two Whole-Body Vibration Exercise Protocols on Body Composition of Patients with Metabolic Syndrome: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Introduction

The study, which I will refer to as Reis-Silvia et. al, investigated the effects of a 6-week treatment of whole-body vibration (which we will shorten to WBVE) on people with metabolic syndrome (MSy).

Metabolic syndrome (MSy) is characterized by:

• Elevated waist circumference

• High triglycerides (put simply, fat)

• Reduced HDL cholesterol (a good cholesterol that removes the bad one: LDL)

• High blood pressure

• Elevated fasting glycemia (an indicator of Type 2 Diabetes)

Therefore, those with MSy have elevated adipose tissue (AT) levels (body fat). Studies show that people with MSy have difficulty adhering to conventional exercise, due to physical limitations, therefore, Reis-Silvia et. al embarked on an investigation to see if whole-body vibration reduces the amount of AT in the body.

In order to track it, full body composition was utilized. In the past, body mass index (commonly known by its abbreviation, BMI), was the most used way to calculate body fat. However, researchers needed a way to determine body fat distribution, so, body composition was used.

Body composition's "gold standard" is computed tomography (CT), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA). We won't be going through these, but feel free to read up on them.

However, these techniques, because they use ionizing radiation (CT and DEXA) and have high costs (NMR), they are not readily available for research. So, the next best thing is bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA). In short, BIA uses a low electrical current to differentiate between fat and non-fat (bones, muscle, tissue, etc.). It is noninvasive, cheap, and portable, therefore the best option for this experiment.

Experiment

During WBVE, mechanical vibration stimulates the muscle spindles in the body. Muscle spindles are sensory receptors located near muscles that primarily works to detect changes in muscle length. These spindles then go on to cause muscle contractions and leading to effects similar to effects of exercise.

Knowing this, Reis-Silvia et. al hypothesized that WBVE will promote positive benefits in body composition, although the specific treatment (such as frequency or amount of time) is unknown. Therefore, they decided on two protocols: fixed frequency (5 Hz) and variable frequency (5 to 16 Hz).

Subjects in the variable frequency group (VFG-WBVE) performed one minute of WBVE (semi-squatting position) and one minute of rest. The sequence of one minute vibration and one minute rest was repeated 3 times for the first 4 sessions, 4 times in the next 4 sessions, 5 times in the next 4 sessions, and 5 times again in the last 4 sessions. The first session used 5 Hz vibration and increased the vibration each session until the experiment was at 16 Hz for the very last session.

Subjects in the fixed frequency group (FFG-WBVE) had a similar treatment setup. They performed one minute of WBVE (however only 10 seconds of vibration and 50 seconds of holding the semi-squat position) and repeated this sequence. Sequence was repeated 3 times for the first 4 sessions, 4 times in the second 4 sessions, 4 times in the third 4 sessions, and 5 times in the last 4 sessions. The frequency of 5 Hz did not change in the sequences.

Results

Table 2. Body composition obtained with BIA of the two groups (FFG-WBVE vs. VFG-WBVE) before and after interventions.

There was a significant decrease in waist circumference (WC) in both treatments, but especially VFG-WBVE. Although not shown in the table, there was also a significant decrease in the right and left arm, and trunk (chest, abdomen, back) in subjects of VFG-WBVE. Considering lean mass, there was barely any change.

Conclusion

In conclusion, WBVE can provide beneficial results in some parameters of the body. This is in agreement with Sañudo et. al, who found that WBVE protocol (12 weeks, 12 to 16 Hz) decreased WC in people with Type 2 diabetes. In addition, Agüer et. al found that there was a decrease in upper limb fat with a WBVE protocol (20 weeks, 25 to 30 Hz) in adolescents with Down syndrome.

Reis-Silvia et. al highlights, through the mention of many other articles in agreement with the current study, the many applications of WBVE. For instance, it can be used in people with MSy, but also in postmenopausal women, those with Type 2 diabetes, obese patients, and those with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (fat building up in the liver from excessive drinking).

Therefore, Reis-Silvia et. al shows that VFG-WBVE can positively affect body composition. Improvement of fat mass is crucial, since it improves metabolic health and reduced cardiovascular risk factors (EX: high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, obesity, etc.).