When the page loads, click on “Osteoporosis” to go straight to Dr. Reichardt’s article.

Dr. Christian Reichardt, president of PowerVibe USA, is a featured speaker with The Vitality Depot.  Some of the topics Dr. Reichardt covers are: Transitioning from Passive to Active Care, Osteoporosis: The Hidden Epidemic, Restoring the Body’s Full Range of Motion.  

Check out the www.VitalitySpeakers.com webpage for Vitality Sponsored Speakers photos, bios and speaking topics. 

As a follow up to the review of how Whole Body Vibration works, below is a summary of the 3 types of WBV:

Vertical
• Ideal for accelerated training, muscle toning, and osteoporosis.
• The platform moves straight up and down with minimal horizontal movement.
• You can feel vibrations through the top of your head when standing straight. Imagine jumping on a trampoline 20-50 times a second.
• Power Vibe Pro II

Oscillating
• Ideal for fat loss and core strengthening.
• One side of the platform elevates up, while the other side lowers down, alternating like a “teeter-totter”.
• You feel a “back and forth” movement focused on your hips and pelvic region. It feels like you are taking 25 steps a second.
• Power Vibe Motion I

Elliptical
• Ideal for balance, stability, and rehabilitation.
• Elliptical platforms move similarly to vertical units but with more horizontal and less vertical movement.
• You feel the vibration massage mostly in your legs and feet. It’s comparable to a foot massager that’s made for your whole body.
• Power Vibe Balance I

In Whole Body Vibration (WVB) training the entire body is exposed to vibration, just as the name suggests. It is implemented through a vibrating platform for the user to utilize during stretching, weight lifting, yoga, pilates, physical therapy or just simply standing. This controlled motion is transferred up through the body causing all of the tissues to react to the stimulus. WBV can be used to increase circulation and lymphatic drainage, improve flexibility, bone density and muscle tone and strength, as well as to promote fat loss.
The way you position your body on the vibrating platform determines what tissues are affected. You have complete control over the body part you want to target and how challenging the workout is. Varying degrees of intensity can be utilized to suit the individual user’s needs.
Vibration training falls into 3 different categories. The types of platform used, and the direction of the vibrations, are used as a moderator of the effect and result of the training or therapy performed. Different machines will be utilized to achieve various results and health benefits.

Up next: a review of the 3 types of vibration training.

Practice Benefits

66% say that “patient satisfaction with care has increased”.

47% report that patients enjoy the experience and have referred others as a result.

13% say reputation in the community has been enhanced.

WBV treatment is pain free and drug free.

Patient Benefits

87% – DC’s successfully address musculoskeletal complaints;

55% – Muscular strengthening/relaxation;

23% – Increased bone density;

12% – Overweight and obesity.

WBV is helping with increased circulation, pain relief from peripheral neuropathy, arthritis, fibromyalgia, parkinsons, paralysis and we have DC’s healing broken bones in record time.

What Else

93% of DC respondents would recommend other DC’s add vibration equipment to their practice.

66% say that using vibration equipment is a very effective part of treatment strategy.

64% are considering adding vibration equipment to their practice.

33% of respondents currently use vibration equipment in their practice.

In a different study remarkable results were recorded with respect to fall prevention. Essentially comparing WBV versus functional training – most probably referring to exercises done in standing positions – the latter places greater stress on bones than isolation exercises (i.e. sitting or lying). While both groups in this study were able to improve bone density at the spine and maintaining the same bone mass at the hip, WBV was able to significantly reduce the number of falls in one of the groups. Bone loss can likely occur in both the spine and  hip, potentially leading to fractures. As the funtional resistance training group saw no improvement in fall prevention bone loss might have been a factor contributing to an increased risk of muscle weakening. This, in turn, can spur a loss of mobility, making it hard to prevent falls in the first place.

In another study with post-menopausal women aged 58-74, WBV was shown to enhance leg strength as well as the women’s speed of movement. As muscle strength naturally decreases with age, this is a remarkable feat and a very crucial success in keeping fit as an elderly. To be able to restore strength in muscle and gain mobility with vibration training goes a far way in establishing the legitimacy of WBV for improving many bone mass density conditions, most prominently osteoporosis.

(Click here to read the original post on this subject)

Osteoporosis affects nearly 10 million individuals in the United States. Conventional treatments include anti-resorptive drug therapies, but recently, it has been demonstrated that delivering a low magnitude, dynamic stimulus via Whole Body Vibration can have an osteogenic effect without the need for large magnitude strain stimulus. Vibration of the vertebral body induces a range of stimuli that may account for the anabolic response including low magnitude strains, interfacial shear stress due to marrow movement, and blood transport. In order to evaluate the relative importance of these stimuli, we integrated a microstructural model of vertebral cancellous bone with a mixture theory model of the vertebral body. The predicted shear stresses on the surfaces of the trabeculae during vibratory loading are in the range of values considered to be stimulatory and increase with increasing solid volume fraction. Peak volumetric blood flow rates also varied with strain amplitude and frequency, but exhibited little dependence on solid volume fraction. These results suggest that fluid shear stress governs the response of the vertebrae to whole body vibration and that the marrow viscosity is a critical parameter which modulates the shear stress.

Dickerson D.A., Sander E.A. & Nauman E.A. (2008). Modeling the mechanical consequences of vibratory loading in the vertebral body: microscale effects. Biomechanics and Modeling in Mechanobiology. 7(3). 191-202.

The lymphatic system, much like the blood vessels and arteries in your body, runs all over the body.  This system is a complex one, and has three main missions. It carries away excess fluids in the body, it carries away fat and fatty acids to the circulatory system for removal, and it is the central part of what most people call “the immune system.” Obviously the lymphatic system’s health is vitally important to overall health.

The lymph system is generally stimulated by movement of the body.  The reason that clusters of lymph nodes are located in the arm pits, the groin, and other constantly moving areas is for that reason. As we age we become less active, and the normal stimulation needed by lymph nodes to pump lymph fluid around the body, filter it, rejuvenate it, and attack biological intruders is not as effective.  It is one of the reasons that older people are more susceptible to illness.  But there is a way to deal with this challenge.

Using Whole Body Vibration stimulates the lymphatic system.  It causes immune response in the lymph nodes, giving the body better defenses against illnesses.  It causes the lymph system to drain more efficiently, getting trapped fats and biological intruders on their way out of the body through the circulatory systems filters.  In short, the vibrations of the WBV cause dozing lymph nodes to wake up and do the work they are intended to do, especially in the aging body where lymph health is even more vital to overall health.

A leading health benefits is the fact that Power Vibe WBV equipment will enhance blood circulation. Improved blood circulation triggers a proportional increase in the levels of serotonin hormone levels and greatly contributes to an improved overall physical and mental wellness.

Research and further studies have shown that WBV will stimulate the use of idle and unused muscles even with elderly patients. The combination of muscular challenge and proprioceptive response awakens their sense of balance and therefore improves mobility. Both results bring about more health benefits such as psychological improvement and an improved sense of well-being.

All in all, WBV holds tremendous promise for our modern society of aging baby boomers and geriatrics. It is easily accessible and safe, takes only a few minutes a day and is extremely effective.

And best of all, with the arrival of Power Vibe, it is now affordable!

www.PowerVibeUSA.com

As we pass middle age into our golden years, as much as we still need it, we must be increasingly careful about how we exercise to maintain our fitness. We aren’t as flexible as we were in our youth, and our bones and connective tissues are more easily injured.  Balance can also be affected by the aging process and by medications, making accepted gym workouts more challenging than they should be.  If we find ourselves walking or moving with assistance, even more care must be taken to assure exercise is positive and of value.

As anyone familiar with staying fit knows well, it is detrimental to one’s body to stop exercising all together.  The human body, even in its later years, needs the benefit of exercise.  So, with the challenges presented by the aging process, how can we get the exercise we need?  The answer is with a Whole Body Vibration system.

Within WBV systems are  a full line of models and vibration types which target specific therapy needs.  In some cases, in younger patients one type of vibration is used which is completely different than that used in older users.  These various vibration and machine types are always therapeutic to one degree or another, but some care must be taken to select the proper machine for your own specific needs.  You can research online to find out more about what a WBV system can do for you.

The most important thing to note is that some type of exercise is needed to keep your body healthy.  Why not get the most efficient workout possible?  WBV only requires 10 minutes a day for you to on your way to better health and wellness