Effect of a vibration exposure on muscular performance and body balance. Randomized cross-over study

This randomized cross-over study was designed to investigate the effects of a 4-min vibration bout on muscle performance and body balance in young, healthy subjects. Sixteen volunteers (eight men, eight women, age 24–33 years) underwent both the 4-min vibration- and sham-interventions in a randomized order on different days. Six performance tests (stability platform, grip strength, isometric extension strength of lower extremities, tandem-walk, vertical jump and shuttle run) were performed 10 min before (baseline), and 2 and 60 min after the intervention. The effect of vibration on the surface electromyography (EMG) of soleus, gastrocnemius and vastus lateralis muscles was also investigated. The vibration-loading, based on a tilting platform, induced a transient (significant at the 2-min test) 2·5% net benefit in the jump height (P=0·019), 3·2% benefit in the isometric extension strength of lower extremities (P=0·020) and 15·7% improvement in the body balance (P=0·049). In the other 2-min or in the 60-min tests, there were no statistically significant differences between the vibration- and sham-interventions. Decreased mean power frequency in EMG of all muscles during the vibration indicated evolving muscle fatigue, while the root mean square voltage of EMG signal increased in calf muscles. We have shown in this study that a single bout of whole body vibration transiently improves muscle performance of lower extremities and body balance in young healthy adults.

This article is cited by the following articles in Blackwell Synergy and CrossRef
B. Rehn, J. Lidström, J. Skoglund, B. Lindström. (2007) Effects on leg muscular performance from whole-body vibration exercise: a systematic review. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports 17:1, 2–11
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Marco Cardinale, John Leiper, Julie Erskine, Mark Milroy and Steve Bell. (2006) The acute effects of different whole body vibration amplitudes on the endocrine system of young healthy men: a preliminary study. Clinical Physiology and Functional Imaging 26:6, 380–384
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Jörn Rittweger, Marcus Mutschelknauss and Dieter Felsenberg. (2003) Acute changes in neuromuscular excitability after exhaustive whole body vibration exercise as compared to exhaustion by squatting exercise. Clinical Physiology and Functional Imaging 23:2, 81–86
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