One kind of exercise equipment is vibration plates, sometimes referred to as vibrating plates or vibration plate machines. They activate muscles by vibrating the entire body. They could also increase bone mass and aid with circulation, strength, and flexibility.
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What Are Plates That Vibrate?
A platform that vibrates when you stand on it is called a vibration plate. Your muscles are forced to contract and relax continuously as a result. You may purchase one to use at home or locate them in certain gyms.
According to some, vibration plates can be beneficial.
Reduce your weight
Burn fat.
Develop more adaptability
Increase blood flow
Reduce muscular discomfort after exercising
Boost your strength
Reduced cortisol and other stress hormone levels
According to some research, vibration plates may aid in weight loss and muscle growth, particularly if you simultaneously reduce your caloric intake. However, not enough study has been done to make a firm conclusion.
How Do Plates That Vibrate Operate?
On a vibrating plate, you may exercise while standing or sitting. Typically, these tremors occur 20–60 times each second. Your muscles repeatedly contract and relax as a result of them. The frequency and strength of the vibrations determine how much energy your body expends.
Benefits of Vibration Plates
These gadgets might improve your fitness and health in a variety of ways.
Weight loss vibration plates
There is encouraging evidence that vibration plates might aid in weight loss. The Journal of Musculoskeletal and Neuronal Interactions reviewed seven studies including 280 participants in 2019. A significant quantity of fat loss seemed to result from vibrating plates. Regarding declines in body fat percentages, the evidence was less apparent. For instance, one research discovered that after 24 weeks of exercise, participants’ fat-free, or muscle mass, increased by 2.2% even though they didn’t appear to shed much body fat. According to a different study, vibration plates outperformed a conventional aerobic and weight training regimen in reducing visceral fat. The fat located deep within your abdomen is known as visceral fat. It is thought to increase the risk of heart disease.
Vibration plates have the same cardiovascular and calorie-burning effects as moderate-intensity walking. The results you observe may vary depending on how long and how frequently you use the device. Research examined vibration plate training conducted twice or three times per week for a duration ranging from six weeks to six months. However, more thorough research is required to determine the precise ways in which vibration plates improve your fitness.
Osteoporosis vibration plates
Vibration plates are another non-pharmacological treatment for osteoporosis, according to some persons. This notion was first investigated around 25 years ago. For a year, they applied high-frequency vibrations to the rear legs of adult sheep for 20-minute spurts each day. When compared to animals that did not get this therapy, experts discovered that the thighbones of the sheep had a roughly one-third higher bone density.
Human trials, however, have shown less promise. Vibration plates have been found to enhance bone mineral density very little or not at all when compared to walking, placebo vibration, or no therapy at all.
According to one research, vibration plates did lower the chance of falls. Approximately 150 postmenopausal women were examined in a German research. In comparison to women who participated in an exercise program without vibration or a control group that did no exercise at all, experts discovered that an exercise program consisting of 20 minutes of dancing, 5 minutes of balance training, 20 minutes of functional gymnastics, and 15 minutes of leg strengthening exercises on vibration plates reduced the risk of falls.
All older persons should avoid falls, but those who have osteoporosis should be particularly careful. This is due to the possibility of a potentially fatal fracture, like a hip fracture, resulting from falling.
Additional Advantages of Vibration Plates
Vibrating plates are associated with a few other health advantages. However, further investigation is required to validate them. Here is what research has revealed thus far:
lower blood pressure. Six weeks of vibration training lowered blood pressure and decreased arterial stiffness in a small trial of 38 young, overweight, or obese women. Other studies have examined postmenopausal women who are overweight or obese and have discovered that taking an amino acid L-citrulline supplement and performing four leg exercises three times a week on a vibration plate for eight weeks can reduce blood pressure.
reduced discomfort in the lower back. Vibration plate training can help persons with persistent lower back pain manage their pain and function, according to a 2023 review of 14 research published in the Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery and Research. According to the review authors, vibration is beneficial in three ways:
It increases trunk muscular strength by activating muscle fibers.
It eases discomfort by relaxing the muscles in your lower back.
It causes your muscles and tendons to release proprioceptors, which are neurons that aid with body alignment. Back instability will be lessened as a result.
improved mental performance. Vibration plate training enhances cognitive (thinking) abilities in both healthy individuals and those who already have cognitive issues like dementia or ADHD, according to a 2023 analysis of eight research published in the journal AIMS Neuroscience.
According to the review, your posture during vibration training is important. For instance, compared to other high or low squat postures, there is very little vibration transfer to the brain when you squat at a 110-degree knee angle. The reason why some research reported less of a brain-boosting impact than others may be explained by this. However, more vibrations reach your skull if you stand on a vibrating platform with one foot in front of you and one behind you. Although studies indicate that sitting causes the most vibrations to reach your brain, it’s unclear if this would improve or impair your cognitive function.