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Right. You’ve decided to get movin’ and shakin’ in an effort to shake off a few pounds. After all, doing whole-body vibration (WBV) seems like a relatively easy route to a slimmer, stronger, more toned you.
As soon as the instructor powers up the Power Plate (PP) machine in your local gym, you feel like you’re standing on top of a washing machine in full spin cycle – but 10 times that. There's a curious buzzing from the soles of your feet right up to your head. Even your fingertips are tingling.
When the session is over, your legs are jelly and your arms are quivering as you gingerly make your way to the car. You’re relieved all your bones are still intact but you’re feeling rather peculiar all the same.
If you consider WBV machines vibrate at a rate of 30 MHz to 50 MHz (or cycles a second), depending on the setting, feeling a bit shaken up is to be expected. It's an alarming range, and several experts say anything higher than 35 MHz is outside the safety zone.
They say rates higher than this can lead to acute discomfort and focal pain in joints, as well as induced alterations in visual perception and an impaired ability to move your eyes smoothly, accurately and efficiently – the skills needed to read from line to line or word to word and also to follow a ball with your eyes.
So, what should you know about WBV before you use it for long-term weight control and/or fitness?
Scientific origins
Although jiggling and shaking at a high frequency might seem like a bizarre fitness concept, the idea has scientifically sound origins.
WBV training was conceived about 45 years ago when Russian scientists investigated its use to prevent cosmonauts from losing muscle tone when exposed to zero gravity.
From there the use of WBV spread. Russian ballet dancers found vibration training enhanced strength and flexibility and helped them recover from injury. By 1999 Dutch Olympic trainer Guus van Meer was using Russian research to develop the vibrating fitness machines we know today. A decade later these machines are to the modern health-and-fitness culture what the hula hoop was to 1950s fad culture.
Physiotherapists and biokineticists use the machines for injury rehabilitation, competitive athletes use them to boost strength, beauticians use them for weight loss and doctors use them to fight osteoporosis.
In recent years aggressive marketing has fuelled the popularity of vibration platforms as the general public has become hooked on the concept of getting the benefits of a full workout in a third of the time.
But beware: that top-of-the-range machine in your biokineticist's rooms is not the same as the freebie you may be offered with a new cellphone contract. Cheaper models are generally inferior, with smaller plates and less powerful motors. They also lack the build-quality and reliability of expensive machines made by reputable companies.
How it works
The idea is that the vibrations activate the muscles throughout the body in an attempt to maintain balance. WBV devotees claim this brings a range of benefits including pain reduction, improved sleep, anti-ageing effects, cellulite reduction, enhanced bone growth and even improved libido and reduced acne. Researchers at the American space agency Nasa also say the vibrations help to build muscle, fight osteoporosis, repair damaged tissue and improve mood through the release of hormones.
But not everyone agrees. In fact, sceptical scientists point to a lack of long-term data and some pretty worrying warnings. One such scientist is Professor Clinton Rubin, a biomedical engineering expert at the State University of New York.
According to Rubin, the high vibration frequency can cause cartilage damage, blurred vision, hearing loss and even brain damage – particularly if the machine is overused or used outside the safe zone.
Some researchers are also concerned that high-amplitude vibrations send jarring waves through the body, which can make it dangerous over time.
There’s also a real research deficit as to the benefits and side-effects of these machines.
Some studies have found little or no significant performance gains. But for every paper that fails to show improvements there are several that show vibration training in a more positive light, with beneficial adaptations such as increased muscular power, flexibility, strength, balance and hormone-release.
What Power Plate says
According to the Power Plate marketers, WBV, as provided by the Power Plate, provides comprehensive results in terms of fitness, health, beauty and performance.
They note that it’s and that Power Plate International doesn't exclude anyone from using the machines. PP training is a form of exercise, so if you're able to do exercise you can use the PP. However, some people need special supervision but this applies to any other form of exercise – it’s no different for PP.
People use other kinds of vibration machines and automatically think of them as a Power Plate. But, according to the PP marketers, there's a huge difference in the way the PP vibrates compared with most other cheap machines.
The PP uses a three-dimensional pattern where the whole platform moves forward, and backward, side to side, and up and down 25 to 50 times a second (frequency) and the amplitude of the movement is just 2,5mm to 5mm. The movement pattern, frequency and amplitude have all been scientifically determined to be the most effective and safest form of vibration available, exploiting the body's natural reflexes in a subtle and comfortable way.
When the PP is on you can't see it moving, while most of the imitation machines use a much more violent form of vibration that literally shakes the whole body and places strain on the pelvis, spine and organs.
Shake it safely
Keen to give it a shake? Here’s how to do WBV safely:
1. Get help
Anyone with orthopaedic injuries should avoid the machines or use them only under supervision of a biokineticist or a trainer with an understanding of postural awareness. Even if you're unaware of any injury, use the machine only if you know how to maintain a "safe” supported body posture or are training with a practitioner who can teach you to hold the right posture.
2. Keep your sessions short
Keep it under 30 minutes and at a vibration level of 35 MHz. It isn't yet documented what the safe duration of a session on the plate is. Try not to exceed the safe zone of 35 MHz.
3. Perfect your posture
• Keep all joints slightly flexed when standing on the vibration plate – bend your hips, knees and ankles slightly.
• Keep your spine lengthened, chin down and don't allow the vibration to travel into your joints or head. In other words, let your muscles absorb the vibration. To achieve this, follow the recommended safety guidelines, keep your joints flexed and hold your postural "line of gravity". For example, if you stand straight and lock your knees you'll feel the vibration in your joints and head, so rather bend your knees slightly and stand in a semi-squat position.
• Avoid sitting and lying on the vibration plate, which makes it difficult to avoid vibration to the head. There are ways of working around this, such as lying with your body on a mat and your legs over the plate.
If you have any of the following conditions avoid whole body vibration training or consult a physician with knowledge of the machines:
• Underlying injuries such as acute hernia
• Deep vein thrombosis
• Pregnancy
• Recently fitted intrauterine device or metal pins, coils, bolts or plates
• Retinal detachment
• Blood clots
• Bone tumours
• Epilepsy
• Diabetes
• Recent wounds from surgical intervention
• Synthetic or artificial joints
• Pacemakers
• Hypertension
• Heart disease
If you’re in any doubt whatsoever, get checked out by a GP first.
