Whole-body Vibration and Manual Ability

The Acute Effects of Whole-Body Vibration on Manual Ability Performance: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Purpose: To evaluate the short-term effects of whole-body vibration (WBV), using reciprocating plate technique, on manual ability performance in healthy younger. Material and methods: 38 healthy young volunteers were randomized to WBV group (N=19; 6 men, 13 women; mean age 21, 3.8yrs) or control group (N=19; 6 men, 13 women; mean age 20.5, 3.5yrs). The subjects in the WBV group performed one series of five consecutive repetitions of 60 sec unsynchronised WBV (Zeptoring, Scisen GmbH, Germany; 4 Hz, amplitude 3mm) with a 1-min pause between administrations, three times a week. The controls did not receive any training. Both groups were evaluated at baseline and after intervention, in the Rey Juan Carlos University´s Gait Analysis Laboratory. Four outcome measures of Purdue Pegboard test (PPT): preferred hand (PH), non-preferred hand (NPH), both hands (BH) and assembly (A) was performed baseline and 5 min after intervention.

The subjects in the WBV group performed one series of five consecutive repetitions of 60 sec unsynchronised multidimensional WBV (Zeptoring, Scisen GmbH, Germany; 4 Hz, amplitude 3mm) with a 1-min pause between administrations, three times a week. The construction of this device is designed to perform a nonharmonious generation of oscillating movements in vertical and horizontal planes in order to prevent occurrences of resonance and habituation of receptors. During the intervention, subjects wore thin-soled gymnastic-type shoes, carrying out in a squatting standing position, with slight flexion at the hips, knees and ankle joint, on the vibration platform.

Whole-body vibration (WBV) is a novel neuromuscular therapeutic intervention that has recently been developed since in the mid-1960s. Hagbart and Eklund showed in human experiments that a reflex muscle contraction can result as a consequence of applying vibrations to the muscular-tendon system. The subjects stand on a platform that generates stochastic vibrations at a frequency between 1-12.5 Hz.

Inclusion criteria: - Healthy subjects aged between 18 and 30 years. Exclusion criteria: Contraindication for WBV: pregnancy, recent fractures, malignancies, kidney stones, cardiac pacemaker, infectious disease or recent thromboembolic. Subjects with any musculoskeletal o neurological disorders that affected their hands. Individuals already treated with WBV were excluded.