What is Whole Body Vibration?

WBV is a form of exercise that allows you the gain all of the physiological benefits of exercise in a condensed time frame.  The muscles are forced to contract anywhere from 6-50 times every second, and every contraction recruits nearly 100% of the muscle fibers.  This allows the user to get a whole body workout in only 10 minutes a day.  Whichever body tissue is put in line and “loaded” on the vibration platform is where the effect of vibration will be felt.  Any exercise that can be done normally can be performed on a WBV platform except it will be more of a static exercise where the user holds the position and the machine does all the work.

Who invented WBV?

The Russians originally invented WBV for use on their cosmonauts who suffered muscle atrophy and bone mineral deterioration while in zero gravity.  They wanted to be able to rehab the cosmonauts in the shortest amount of time so they could send them back into space.  WBV allows a weight bearing load on the body and bone structure and therefore helps to build muscles and bone minerals.

Which form of WBV is best?

Vertical is best used for muscle strengthening, flexibility and accelerated training.  It is also best for combating osteoporosis because it puts a weight bearing load vertically on the bone structure from head to toe.  Because the platform recruits 20-50 muscles contractions every second, the stimulus placed on the body fatigues the muscles much faster than conventional exercise, thus decreasing the total time required.

Oscillating vibration is best for weight loss, mobilization, range of motion and core strengthening.  This was the technology that Russians first invented WBV with.  Due to the movement of an oscillating platform it operates at a lower frequency than vertical vibration, between 5-30 Hz usually.  Again a whole body workout can be achieved in 10 minutes and this equipment has been proven to literally melt away fat.

Elliptical vibration is best for proprioceptive response (balance), rehabbing lower extremity injuries, and use with elderly.  It is the most benign form of WBV and most similar to vertical vibration.  A major difference being that the vibration effect is not felt above the waist even when standing straight up and down.

Can 1 machine do all 3 types of WBV?

One machine cannot do all three types of WBV.  Because of the way the each platform moves it would require a very large machine with a transmission and other complex parts to make this possible.  Doing that would drive the price of the machine up considerably and would most likely be very noisy. This would defeat the purpose of having equipment with a small foot print that runs quietly and is affordable for doctors and their patients to use.

Is this similar to the vibrating belt they used to have in the 1950’s & 60’s

Not at all, in fact those vibrating belts we more of a hoax than anything else and were never show to have any significant results.  The major difference is that with WBV your body weight is being used as a weight bearing load.  As the platform rapidly accelerates your body tissues, gravity forces rapid deceleration.  This is how user are able to gain the same physiological benefits as exercise because WBV creates a weight bearing load on the body tissues and bone structure.