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.

Calorie Loss is impossible to measure accurately in any activity because there are so many variables.

In short…it has been calculated that a 10 min vibration session could yield approx 200-500 calorie loss. This could increase with intensifying the activity while on the machine.

It has been calculated that 10 minutes on a Vibration Machine would be similar to approx a 6-10 km walk.

Current Tools to Measure Calorie Loss

Pedometers, pulse monitors, CO2 emission sensors, home gyms…none of which are very accurate… (only used for aerobic activity.)

Variables

There are labs that could attempt to calculate aerobic calorie loss with the following information…age, weight, height, max/min heart rate, rate of oxygen intake, CO2 emissions, fitness level etc…so…it’s not that easy…

There is no way to test anaerobic calorie loss…only aerobic (Vibration is generally referred to anaerobic)

Vibration vs. Cardio Workout

-vibration = anaerobic = burn carbs

-cardio = aerobic = burn fat

(this is true ‘short term’…but all workouts encourage fat burning for approx 48 hrs after the workout)

Conclusion

All workouts increase metabolism…therefore burning fat.

Metabolism = calories burned

If your metabolism is 2,000…this means you burn approx 2,000 calories/day.

Vibration is now regarded as resistance training…resistance training burns fat…and calories

Bottom line…burn more calories than you eat!

REBECCA CAMBER, Daily Mail – Last updated at 16:36pm on 18th July 2006

With her heavily muscled arms, you would be forgiven for thinking it is the result of a punishing exercise regime at the gym.

But it seems the Queen of Pop’s incredible shape is, in part, thanks to The Power Plate – dubbed the ‘miracle’ machine.

And for those who have spent years trying to beat the wobble, the news is sure to send out good vibrations.

The new exercise machine removes the need to actually work out.

Manufacturers claim that the vibrating platform offers the same benefits of an hour-long sweaty gym workout in just 15 minutes with the machine burning the calories for you.

The Power Plate is said to be responsible for the incredible shapes of not only Madonna, but also star such as Claudia Schiffer and Natalie Imbruglia.

But the “miracle” machine doesn’t come cheap – at £6,995 it costs far more than the average annual gym membership.

After the muscley 47-year-old Queen of Pop bought the vibrating exercise platform, sales have reportedly soared.

A smaller version at John Lewis for £2,599 is currently the store’s fastest selling fitness product, with one a day being snapped up, despite its princely price tag.

And in Harrods, around 20 machines are sold every weekend.

The plate works by giving the body muscles a high speed workout, as the vibrations make them contract and relax up to 50 times a second.

It may feel like standing on a spin dryer, but celebrities including Jonathan Ross, Colin Montgomerie, Sadie Frost and Donatella Versace are all fans.

The machine is also being used by several premiership football teams, including Manchester United and the German team trained with it during the World Cup.

Originally developed by Russian scientist Vladimir Nazarov, whole vibration training was used to prevent astronauts’ muscles and bones wasting when they were in space.

Later, Russian ballet dancers discovered that vibration could aid the healing of their injuries by increasing their muscular strength.

Dutch Olympic trainer Guus van der Meer used this research in 1999 to develop the machine for the health and fitness sector.

In addition to increasing strength and toning the body, makers boast that it can improve blood flow and reduce cellulite if used for 15 minutes, three times a week.

Instead of jogging or power walking, users are instructed to do gentle exercises like squats or stretches on the platform.

Suitable for all ages and fitness levels, it is now being made available in gyms across the UK and has been recommended for osteoporosis and arthritis sufferers as it puts no strain on  the joints.

A spokesman said: “Power Plate offers the benefits of regular exercise – a toned body, better flexibility, improved circulation which helps reduce the appearance of cellulite, increased stamina and improved fitness and well-being.”

But fitness experts remain sceptical about the benefits of the machine.

Chief executive of the Fitness Industry Association, Andree Dean said: “It should only be used in conjunction with other types of exercise.

“It’s great for those short of time, but it is not a quick fix and people shouldn’t think that if they use it, they don’t have to go to the gym anymore.

“It certainly does not provide cardiovascular exercise, which keeps the heart and blood circulation system healthy.”

Whole-Body Vibration Training in Multiple Sclerosis patients – a Pilot Study.

Siv Ohlin1, Edzard B. Zeinstra2
1 Department of Neurological Physiotherapy, Malmo, Sweden
2 Power Plate International, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

INTRODUCTION: The purpose of this pilot study was to examine whether a Whole-Body Vibration device (Power Plate) leads to strength and balance increase, endurance improvement, and improved functional performance in daily life, in Multiple Sclerosis patients.
DESIGN: Pilot Clinical Trial Study
SETTING: Outpatient of a physiotherapy clinic in Malmo, Sweden
SUBJECTS: Ten Multiple Sclerosis patients with moderate to severe disability (Kurtzke’s Expanded Disability Status Scale 4.0 – 6.5) were included in the study.
INTERVENTION: A Whole-Body Vibration (WBV) at low frequency (30 Hz oscillations at Low amplitude (18 m/s2)) in 10 series of 30 seconds, with 30 break pause inbetween
the series. The WBV was administered twice a week for a period of 12 weeks. Variations of squats and lunges as well as upper body and stretching exercises were used as exercises and positions on the WBV-device.
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Timed Get Up and Go Test, Timed 10 Meter Walk, Timed 20 Meter Walk (including turn around after 10 meter), Six-minute Walk, Timed Rise Up from a Chair and Sit Down on a Chair Ten Times, Nine Hole Peg Test (left & right). The pre-test was performed 1 week before the intervention and the post-test one week after the 12 week program.
RESULTS: All 10 patients finished the 12 weeks intervention program. A one tailed T-test showed a significant group effect for the Timed Get Up and Go Test (p< 0.05)
and for the Nine Hole Peg Test for both the right and the left hand (p < 0.05). After correcting for outliers (two SD’s from the mean) a significant effect was found for
the Rise and Sit Down 10 Times Test (p < 0.05). The other tests didn’t show a significant increase for the group. However, most individual patients increased a little in performance or stayed at a similar level. With the 10 Meter Walk Test seven out of nine patients improved or stayed at the same level (one outlier). On the Six Minutes Walk and the 20 Meter Walk Test six out of nine patients were able to maintain or improve their performance (1 outlier).
CONCLUSION: The results of this pilot study indicate that whole-body vibration with the Power-Plate may positively influence postural control, balance, mobility, strength, and endurance in Multiple Sclerosis patients. Short tasks where explosive strength and coordination was required (Get Up and Go, Rise and Sit Down, and Nine Hole Peg Test) showed a significant improvement. While the longer test (20 meter walk, 6 minute walk) didn’t show significance increase post intervention. Results from other studies reveal a similar finding, indicating that whole-body vibration influences power and explosive strength, although exercises are not performed explosively, often even statically.
In a degenerative disease like Multiple Sclerosis maintaining function and performance is a major goal of therapy. For most people, being independent for longer is a huge increase in quality of life, and will reduce the need for professional help and support significantly. The results in this pilot study showed that most of the patients maintained their level of performance which indicates the positive benefits that could be gained with a whole-body vibrating program. Further research with a control group need to be done in order to find out if – and how- a whole-body vibration program is a valuable training program for Multiple Sclerosis patients.
February 2007