OSU Researchers to Shake-Up Hip Replacement Therapy
02-09-06
By Stephen Swanson, 541-737-0789
SOURCE: Gianni Maddalozzo, 541-737-6802
CORVALLIS, Ore. – Good vibrations may be the key for Oregon State University researchers seeking to aid hip replacement patients.
To study the benefits of a whole body vibration exercise regime – similar to that used by astronauts and Olympians – OSU scientists will put volunteers through workouts on vibrating platforms designed to improve strength, flexibility and balance, said Gianni Maddalozzo, a researcher in OSU’s College of Health and Human Sciences.
Customized workouts will be created for volunteers ages 60-75 who have had partial hip replacement surgery in the past two years, said Maddalozzo, whose appointment is in the college’s Department of Exercise and Sport Science.
Participants will then undergo supervised workouts for two days a week in Salem or Corvallis. A control group will also be recruited and will perform the same exercises, but won’t use the vibrating platform.
“Most people, when they hear about whole body vibration therapy, they tend to laugh,” Maddalozzo said. But as the population ages, he added, osteoporosis, or “brittle bones,” and related fractures are becoming an increasing problem and hip fracture is the most devastating complication of osteoporosis.
“A number of animal studies, examining sheep, turkeys and rats, show that vibration treatment has a significant effect on bone formation and muscle mass,” Maddalozzo said. “When researchers tried a vibration platform regime with sheep, they saw huge increases in bone mass among the animals.”
But in hip fracture patients, bone mass is not the primary concern.
“The bone heals itself; that’s not the issue,” Maddalozzo said. “The issue is increasing muscle mass, strength and balance with a workout program that is safe and practical.
“Whole body vibration training has been promoted as an efficient, safe alternative for resistance training,” he added. “Even if performed to exhaustion the increases in heart rate, blood pressure and oxygen uptake during whole body vibration training are negligible. Moreover, vibration training has been shown to be as efficient as standard resistance training for improving strength and balance in older women.”
In addition to customized workouts volunteers will receive free bone scans to measure bone mass.
The vibrating work stations resemble giant home scales with upraised handles. Vibration levels will be set at 30 hertz, giving muscles 30 cycles of vibration per second, making them contract and relax 30 times per second.
Individuals will probably start at about 10 minutes of exercise for each session and gradually build to 20-minute workouts.
“You can get the benefits of a 45- to 50-minute workout for less than half that time with a whole body vibration workout,” Maddalozzo pointed out.
The slight shaking may momentarily startle newcomers, but people usually adjust to it in a few moments, Maddalozzo said. A support harness can be used for participants who fear losing their balance.
The therapy period will last six months. Anyone interested in volunteering for the study can contact Maddalozzo at 541-737-6802 or herronja@onid.orst.edu. About the OSU College of Health and Human Sciences:
Emphasizing a holistic approach to optimal health and disease prevention, researchers focus on nutrition, physical activity, the psychology of aging improving the health of children and older adults, public policy, access to health care, and maximizing environmentally friendly materials and structures.
Professional golfers know that the key to winning at golf is optimum fitness, strength, flexibility and range of movement. To fulfill your potential on the golf course, whether at club level or in professional competitions, regular training on a Vibration Machine can help make the difference between a good golfer and a great golfer. Developed to optimize the effects of Acceleration Training this revolutionary fitness machine is now recognized to be one of the most efficient training devices in the world.
Internationally renowned golfers, Colin Montgomerie, Lee Westwood and Darren Clarke are among many professional sports men and women who have successfully incorporated Vibration Technology into their training programs with great results. Due to the positive response from the professional golfing world a Vibration Machine has been placed in the PGA golf tour bus to help competitors train and warm-up before rounds.
A short workout on a Vibration Machine is the equivalent of 60 minutes conventional strenuous exercise in the gym and is an ideal way to warm-up and get ready for action. Apart from building strength and tone, performing dynamic stretching movements on a Vibration Bulletin #A2 Machine can also help you improve your range of motion and give you the edge over your competitors. Lee Westwood uses his Whole Body Vibration Machine to complement his training and believes it is very useful for stretching and can also give an excellent leg massage.
Vibration technology works by transferring vibrations to muscles, enabling them to contract and relax up to 50 times a second in a reflex action. A static or dynamic pose, held for up to 60 seconds at a time, activates multiple muscle groups simultaneously to improve muscle strength, power, performance, flexibility and range of motion. Colin Montgomerie has already seen the benefits of using a Vibration Machine and says: Whole Body Vibration complements my fitness routine, it’s great for increasing strength and has helped me increase my range of mobility in my lower back and I feel more flexible after I have used it.
Due to his hectic schedule Colin welcomes the time saving aspect of this machine. ‘I just like the fact that you can do your workout in a relatively short time. I could live without working out, but I couldn’t do my job as well. I need to keep fit when I am not out on the tour.’ The unique and very positive benefits of vibration training are quickly evident to users and it is a great tool to have for assisting in building up strength, improving flexibility and range of motion and rehabilitation and recovery from injury. It really is set to change the way professional golfers train.
Increasing amount of interest is directed to whole body vibration technology as studies indicate promising results. Numerous findings include increase in muscle strength, enhancing balance and co-ordination, improved flexibility, increase in bone mass density therefore decreasing osteoporosis, stimulating the lymphatic system, massage effect on muscles and providing low joint impact. These findings should make every chiropractor excited to inquire further into this technology. The findings seem ideal to include with the chiropractic treatment.
Research conducted on young female athletes has indicated benefits of whole-body vibration as a suitable training method to improve knee extension maximal strength, counter-movement jump, and flexibility (1). Current research is showing vibration to increase range of motion beyond that of static stretching alone (2). The underlying mechanism
with whole body vibration is thought to be the elicitation of muscular activity via stretch reflexes. At moderate intensity, strength gain on the knee extensors of previously untrained females was clearly shown to increase by using vibration when compared with placebo effects (3). At increased intensity, there seems to be effects similar to those of massage such as increased blood flow and heat and furthermore there is a release of hormone response comparable to that found after resistance type exercise (4).
In considering the many positive aspects of whole body vibration on the neuromusculoskeletal system it would be interesting to note its effects when implemented as part of a chiropractic treatment. The implications from current research findings were used to try and see if whole body vibration can enhance the chiropractic treatment. It was stipulated that using the machine for 5 minutes at a cycle of 10 ossicillations would help the muscles relax, increase forward flexion of cervical spine and facilitate ease in the delivery of spinal manipulative treatments. This clinical trial took 5 existing patients and had them use the T-Zone Vibration Technology machine for five minutes, 3 times a week for two
weeks immediately before their scheduled chiropractic treatment. Existing patients were used because their response to treatment without whole body vibration was already known.
The results of these patients were based on clinical findings of palpation to determine areas of muscle tension in the cervical and thoracic spine, measuring forward cervical flexion by use of a measuring scale and overall effort in delivering the adjustments to the cervical and thoracic areas. Observations and measurements were noted after each treatment. Those patients who used the T-Zone Vibration Technology machine before their treatments, showed considerably less areas of tension on the spine along with large muscle groups being more relaxed after the third treatment. The improvement was maintained over the two-week period. Their range of motion increased gradually over the two weeks and maintained its improvement.
Overall it was easier to administer the spinal manipulative treatments because the muscles were more relaxed. The need to apply soft tissue therapy was decreased. An interestingly appreciative finding was seen after the first week of treatment. The patient’s spine was holding its alignment determined by the significantly less areas of tension noted in the spine. In addition all five patients noted an increase in overall well-being. The findings of this study pose limitations due to its sample size and not having a controlled group. Also note this was done on only the T-Zone Vibration Technology machine.
The intention of this clinical based trial was to gather preliminary data to determine if chiropractors and their patients can benefit with the promising results research is highlighting in using vibration technology. Benefits are certainly being indicated in this trial along with numerous other studies. These findings should be utilized by chiropractors to enhance the treatments they provide either by implementing whole body vibration technology in their clinics or conducting further research.
Dr. Nimet Meghji TCM, DC, CAFCI
Optimum Health Centre
1246 Yonge St, Toronto. ON
Optimum Health Centre is a multidisciplinary clinic dedicated to provide effective complementary and alternative medicine for the wellbeing of the public.
1) (Am J Phys Med Rehabil.; 85(12):956-62). Dec 2006.
2) Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. 38(4):720-725, April 2006.
3) Med. Sci. Sports Exerc., Vol. 35, No. 6, pp. 1033-1041, 2003.
4) European Journal of Applied Physiology, 81, pp. 449-454. (2000).
There have been many questions about foot pain and Plantar Fasciitis when using Whole Body Vibration. In general, Vibration Therapy will help stretch, massage and strengthen the muscles in the foot. The following is an explanation of Plantar Fasciitis, a common foot problem that is often helped with WBV.
Under normal circumstances, your plantar fasciia acts like a shock-absorbing bowstring, supporting the arch in your foot. But, if tension on that bowstring becomes too great, it can create small tears in the fasciia. Repetitive stretching and tearing can cause the fasciia to become irritated or inflamed. Some causes of plantar fasciitis can be:
1. Physical Activity Overload
2. Arthritis
3. Diabetes
4. Faulty foot mechanics
5. Improper shoes
6. Poor diet
Plantar “acidic” fasciitis is one of the most
frequently seen conditions by foot and ankle
orthopedic surgeons. It is an overuse injury
affecting a band of tissue (fasciia), which
supports the arch and extends from the heel to
the toes. Simply, it is an inflammatory, stage
4 acidic “wear and tear” of a tissue within
the foot.
Doctors may hesitate prescribing medication or surgically ‘going in’ to bring the fasciia ‘back to life’ because the problem is often not with the tissues directly but with the acidic lifestyle, diet and metabolism that is affecting the tissues.
Whole Body Vibration using Oscillating/Pivotal Technology approximately ten minutes a day will increase lymphatic circulation to remove acids from the plantar fasciia. The Vibration Therapy also helps to vibrate acids out of the tissues causing the pain or inflammation. Involuntary muscle contractions will also help tone and build weak muscles in the legs and feet helping to improve balance, coordination, and other possible lower extremity issues.
