The effects of whole body vibration on balance, joint position sense and cutaneous sensation

Whole body vibration (WBV) may enhance muscular strength and power but little is known about its influence on sensory-motor function. Vibration of a single muscle or tendon affects the afferent system in a manner that depends on amplitude and frequency. WBV stimulates many muscle groups simultaneously and the frequencies and amplitudes used are different from many of the studies on single musculotendinous units. We investigated the effects of WBV at two amplitudes on balance, joint position sense (JPS) and cutaneous sensation in young healthy subjects. Eighteen adults (24.3 ± 1.5 years, 15 females) were assessed before WBV (five 1 min bouts, 30 Hz) then immediately, 15 and 30 min afterwards. Two amplitudes (4 and 8 mm peak to peak) were investigated on different occasions. Standing balance was assessed with feet together and eyes closed, and standing on one leg with eyes open and closed. JPS at the knee and ankle was assessed by repositioning tasks while cutaneous sensation was recorded from six sites in the lower limb using pressure aesthesiometry. Neither amplitude affected JPS (P > 0.05). There were minimal effects on balance only in the vertical plane and only 30 min after WBV (P < 0.05). Low amplitude vibration only reduced sensation at the foot and ankle immediately after WBV (P < 0.008). High amplitude vibration impaired sensation at the foot, ankle and posterior shank for the entire test period (P < 0.008). In young healthy individuals WBV did not affect JPS or static balance, but reduced cutaneous sensation. These data may have implications for older and clinical populations with compromised postural control.

[1]  '. B.Vallbo.  Properties of cutaneous mechanoreceptors in the human hand-related to touch sensation , 1999 .

[2]  M. Hollins,et al.  Perceived intensity of vibrotactile stimuli: the role of mechanoreceptive channels. , 1996, Somatosensory & motor research.

[3]  R. Schmidt.  Fundamentals of Sensory Physiology , 1986, Springer Study Edition.

[4]  Carmelo Bosco,et al.  The Use of Vibration as an Exercise Intervention , 2003, Exercise and sport sciences reviews.

[5]  M. Järvinen,et al.  Effect of a vibration exposure on muscular performance and body balance. Randomized cross‐over study , 2002, Clinical physiology and functional imaging.

[6]  J. Roll,et al.  Response to pressure and vibration of slowly adapting cutaneous mechanoreceptors in the human foot , 1982, Neuroscience Letters.

[7]  D. Burke,et al.  The responses of human muscle spindle endings to vibration of non‐contracting muscles. , 1976, The Journal of physiology.

[8]  T. Kasai,et al.  The effects of wrist muscle vibration on human voluntary elbow flexion-extension movements , 2004, Experimental Brain Research.

[9]  Sang-I Lin,et al.  Sensitivity of plantar cutaneous sensation and postural stability. , 2008, Clinical biomechanics.

[10]  V. Mountcastle,et al.  The sense of flutter-vibration: comparison of the human capacity with response patterns of mechanoreceptive afferents from the monkey hand. , 1968, Journal of neurophysiology.

[11]  D Felsenberg,et al.  Acute physiological effects of exhaustive whole-body vibration exercise in man. , 2000, Clinical physiology.

[12]  B. Guschlbauer,et al.  The significance of proprioception on postural stabilization as assessed by ischemia , 1984, Brain Research.

[13]  Yoshio Nakajima,et al.  Response characteristics of cutaneous mechanoreceptors to vibratory stimuli in human glabrous skin , 1995, Neuroscience Letters.

[14]  H. Imai,et al.  Interpretation of cutaneous pressure threshold (Semmes‐Weinstein monofilament measurement) following median nerve repair and sensory reeducation in the adult , 1989, Microsurgery.

[15]  J. Roll,et al.  The plantar sole is a ‘dynamometric map’ for human balance control , 1998, Neuroreport.

[16]  H. Hirschfeld,et al.  One-leg stance in healthy young and elderly adults: a measure of postural steadiness? , 2004, Clinical biomechanics.

[17]  D J Cochrane,et al.  Acute whole body vibration training increases vertical jump and flexibility performance in elite female field hockey players , 2005, British Journal of Sports Medicine.

[18]  R Johansson,et al.  Significance of pressor input from the human feet in anterior-posterior postural control. The effect of hypothermia on vibration-induced body-sway. , 1990, Acta oto-laryngologica.

[19]  Marco Cardinale,et al.  The acute effects of two different whole body vibration frequencies on vertical jump performance , 2003 .

[20]  P. Matthews,et al.  Evidence from the use of vibration during procaine nerve block that the spindle group II fibres contribute excitation to the tonic stretch reflex of the decerebrate cat , 1973, The Journal of physiology.

[21]  T. Furness,et al.  Influence of Whole Body Vibration Platform Frequency on Neuromuscular Performance of Community-Dwelling Older Adults , 2009, Journal of strength and conditioning research.

[22]  J. Duysens,et al.  Short-Term Effects of Whole-Body Vibration on Postural Control in Unilateral Chronic Stroke Patients: Preliminary Evidence , 2004, American journal of physical medicine & rehabilitation.

[23]  Christophe Delecluse,et al.  Effects of whole body vibration training on postural control in older individuals: a 1 year randomized controlled trial. , 2007, Gait & posture.

[24]  Pekka Kannus,et al.  Effect of 8‐Month Vertical Whole Body Vibration on Bone, Muscle Performance, and Body Balance: A Randomized Controlled Study , 2003, Journal of bone and mineral research : the official journal of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research.

[25]  R. Fitzpatrick,et al.  Postural proprioceptive reflexes in standing human subjects: bandwidth of response and transmission characteristics. , 1992, The Journal of physiology.

[26]  J P Roll,et al.  Effects of whole-body vibrations on standing posture in man. , 1980, Aviation, space, and environmental medicine.

[27]  S S Hsiao,et al.  Vibratory adaptation of cutaneous mechanoreceptive afferents. , 2005, Journal of neurophysiology.

[28]  I. Homma,et al.  Aftereffects of mechanical vibration and muscle contraction on limb position‐sense , 2004, Muscle & nerve.

[29]  J. Roll,et al.  Vibration-induced postural posteffects. , 1998, Journal of neurophysiology.

[30]  Anne Kavounoudias,et al.  Cutaneous afferents from human plantar sole contribute to body posture awareness , 2002, Neuroreport.

[31]  C. Parry.  Rehabilitation of the hand , 1973 .

[32]  R T Verrillo,et al.  Psychophysical evidence for a triplex system of cutaneous mechanoreception. , 1979, Sensory processes.

[33]  K. O. Johnson,et al.  Time-course of vibratory adaptation and recovery in cutaneous mechanoreceptive afferents. , 2005, Journal of neurophysiology.

[34]  J. Hunter Downs,et al.  FMRI mapping of the somatosensory cortex with vibratory stimuli Is there a dependency on stimulus frequency? , 2001, Brain Research.

[35]  E. Ribot-Ciscar,et al.  Vibration sensitivity of slowly and rapidly adapting cutaneous mechanoreceptors in the human foot and leg , 1989, Neuroscience Letters.

[36]  Ross D. Pollock,et al.  Muscle activity and acceleration during whole body vibration: effect of frequency and amplitude. , 2010, Clinical biomechanics.

[37]  J. Reginster,et al.  Controlled whole body vibration to decrease fall risk and improve health-related quality of life of nursing home residents. , 2005, Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitation.

[38]  P. Matthews,et al.  The relative sensitivity to vibration of muscle receptors of the cat , 1967, The Journal of physiology.

[39]  H Sievänen,et al.  Effect of 4-min vertical whole body vibration on muscle performance and body balance: a randomized cross-over study. , 2002, International journal of sports medicine.

[40]  J. Roll,et al.  Alteration of proprioceptive messages induced by tendon vibration in man: a microneurographic study , 2004, Experimental Brain Research.

[41]  J. Roll,et al.  Kinaesthetic role of muscle afferents in man, studied by tendon vibration and microneurography , 2004, Experimental Brain Research.

[42]  M. Henriksen,et al.  Effect of whole body vibration exercise on muscle strength and proprioception in females with knee osteoarthritis. , 2009, The Knee.

[43]  Jörn Rittweger,et al.  Vibration as an exercise modality: how it may work, and what its potential might be , 2010, European Journal of Applied Physiology.

[44]  Sara E. Wilson,et al.  Whole Body Vibration Alters Proprioception in the Trunk , 2008 .

[45]  R. Bianconi,et al.  The response to vibration of the end organs of mammalian muscle spindles. , 1963, Journal of neurophysiology.

[46]  C. Richardson,et al.  The effect of weight-bearing exercise with low frequency, whole body vibration on lumbosacral proprioception: a pilot study on normal subjects. , 2005, The Australian journal of physiotherapy.

[47]  M. Hadian,et al.  A comparative study of whole body vibration training and conventional training on knee proprioception and postural stability after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction , 2008, British Journal of Sports Medicine.

[48]  R. Lundström,et al.  Responses of mechanoreceptive afferent units in the glabrous skin of the human hand to vibration. , 1986, Scandinavian journal of work, environment & health.

[49]  S C Gandevia,et al.  Impairment of human proprioception by high‐frequency cutaneous vibration , 2007, The Journal of physiology.

[50]  Pekka Kannus,et al.  Effect of four-month vertical whole body vibration on performance and balance. , 2002, Medicine and science in sports and exercise.

[51]  B. E. Maki,et al.  The role of plantar cutaneous mechanoreceptors in the control of compensatory stepping reactions evoked by unpredictable, multi-directional perturbation , 2000, Brain Research.