Home / Vibration train plate and Chriorpactic demonstrate impressive outcome with patients.

Vibration train plate and Chriorpactic demonstrate impressive outcome with patients.

The medicinal use of vibration is not new. Vibration as a therapeutic}technique was mentioned in ancient Greco-Roman sources and vibratory massage was popularamong physicians in the 19th century. The use of mechanical vibration for strength exercisepurposes began attracting interest less than 2 decades ago. Russia Olympic trainers are usually credited with the development of whole body vibration during the 1970's when the Russians were dominating Olympic play. Success with the athletes led to research by the Russian space program to use whole body vibration to prevent excessive bone damage in astronauts while they are up in space.
Vibration is an oscillatory movement. The degree of this action determines the magnitude and amplitude of the vibration and the repetition speed of the cycles of oscillation determines the frequency of the vibration (measured in Hz). Vibration can be locally applied by means of vibrating support rolls or cushions, or with vibrating dumbbells or cables, or applied to the whole body by means of a vibrating platform. During whole body vibration, the transmissibility and impedance response of the human spine show increases at their resonant frequency.3 This means that the greatest motion all through the spine, and therefore the most effect (either helpful or unfavorable) would be achieved at resonant frequency.
The damaging effects of long period whole body vibration have been extensively researched. There is an association between jobs that expose the individual to long duration, low-frequency whole body vibration, such as tractor, truck and bus drivers and:
• Amplified lumbar spinal degeneration
• Increased incidence of low back pain
• Erector spinae muscular fatigue
On the other hand, recent work has suggested that low frequency, short length mechanical stimulation of the human body is a not dangerous and effective way to exercise and strengthen musculoskeletal structures, enhance sensory-motor neural pathways, improve proprioception/posture and decrease chronic low back pain. Also, because of its ability to relax musculoligamentous structures and enhance flexibility,1 low amplitude, low frequency whole body vibration may increase their remodeling during postural/structural corrective traction and make the whole traction method more physically tolerable for the chiropractic patient. This would theoretically let the chiropractic patient to perform traction with higher traction loads for longer periods of time, thus improving results. I will elaborate on the positive effects of short duration, low frequency whole body vibration as well as provide a short case study to demonstrate its clinical abilities.
POSITIVE PHYSICAL EFFECTS OF WHOLE BODY VIBRATION
"The body depends on a variety of structures and mechanisms to control the transmission of impact shocks and vibrations all through the body as well as: bone, cartilage, synovial fluids, soft tissues, joint kinematics, and muscular activity."6 The amplitude of the vibrations will be greatest if the natural frequency of the involved tissues is near to that of the input force (resonance), however, the amplitude can be condensed by damping from the tissues. When the body undergoes vibration, muscle activity is necessary for damping the vibratory waves. This has been defined as muscle tuning via the "tonic vibration reflex." Muscle tension linearly increases with the frequency of vibration. In most studies relating vibratory stimulation during strength exercises, a frequency range form 20-45 Hz is used because low frequency vibration propagates well through contracted or stretched muscles and higher frequency vibration is absorbed by the soft body tissues. The vibration exercise is usually preformed in a dynamic fashion (ex; squats with and without additional load) in less than one minute and then the patient gets off the vibratory platform. Continuous vibration (15 minute or more) reduced the firing rate of motor units and motor output and has a suppressive effect. Prolonged vibration also causes as much as a 200 percent increase of blood flow to the muscles involved evoking a thermal effect that also enhances flexibility.4 So while the physical effects of prolonged vibration may be very beneficial in 10-20 minute intervals for postural/structural corrective traction procedures, it is usually not recommended for strength training exercises in intervals over 15 minutes. Notable strength gains (especially with jumping performance) that were superior to gains achieved with non-vibratory resistance training was recorded in most studies, especially with middle aged and older individuals. Stretching with vibration exercises are also enhanced if done on a vibrating plate. Not only because of the increased blood flow already talked about, but because vibration seems to inhibit activation of antagonist muscles, improve neuromuscular coordination and produce a pronounced analgesic effect.
Whole body vibration exercise has also been shown to:
• Be effective in reducing pain sensation and pain-related disability in chiropractic patients affected by chronic low back pain.
• Recover balance/posture, even when the displacement is relatively small. Postural muscles play an imperative role in stabilizing the body during vibration. As supportive evidence, in a study by Roll et al. it was concluded that foot sole input contributes to the coding and the spatial representation of body posture.
• Improve proprioception. "A loss of proprioception would contribute to neuromuscular dysfunction and likely poor segmental stability in low back pain patients, which may lead to an increase in the risk of injury or further injury. Therefore, to treat chiropractic patients with low back pain effectively, proprioception training is usually considered to be an important element of the rehabilitation exercise program."
• Effectively counteract bone loss. Low level vibration at 30 Hz for 20 minutes per day stimulated a 34 percent increase in the density of trabecular bone in the proximal femur of adult male sheep following one year of treatment.
• Acutely increase testosterone and growth hormone levels and acutely decrease cortisol levels in fit individuals when the training protocol was relatively short.
The exclusion criteria for whole body vibration include pregnancy, acute thromboses, heart or circulatory conditions, fresh wounds, artificial joints or body parts, spinal pathology, diabetes, epilepsy, acute migraines, acute inflammatory conditions, pacemaker, or tumors. Higher frequencies (above 60 Hz) and hours of prolonged daily use are also not recommended.


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