Institut für Medizinische Physik, Friedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg. simon.von.stengel@imp.uni-erlangen.de
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Whole body vibration (WBV) training is a new approach which is currently discussed in the context of reducing the risk of osteoporotic fractures. The study was undertaken to determine the effect of one-year WBV exercise on bone mineral density (BMD) and the number of falls. METHODS: 151 postmenopausal women (68.5 +/- 3.1 years) were randomly assigned to three groups: (1) conventional (multifunctional) training (TG); (2) multifunctional training including WBV (VTG); (3) wellness-control group (CG). The training groups performed multifunctional training twice weekly (60 min; dancing aerobics, balance training, functional strength training). In the last 15 min of each session, leg strength exercises on vibration platforms were performed. The plates were switched on only in the VTG. The CG performed a low intensity gymnastic and relaxation programme (4 x 10 sessions of 60 min). BMD was measured at the hip and lumbar spine at baseline and after 12 months with the DXA method. Falls were recorded daily with the calendar method in a fall log. RESULTS: An increase in BMD at the lumbar spine was measured after one year in both training groups (VTG: + 1.17 +/- 2.4 % vs. TG: + 1.73 +/- 2.4 %). The difference between the TG and the CG was significant (p < .05). Regarding the hip region a loss was noted in the CG (- 0.9 +/- 2.5), whereas the BMD stayed stable in the training groups (TG: – 0.3 %; VTG: + 0.1 %). The fall rate was significantly lower in VTG compared to CG (0.43 falls/person/year (VTG) vs. 1.14 (CG). CONCLUSION: The multifunctional training resulted in a gain of BMD at the lumbar spine. Vibration training did not enhance the effect on bone but significantly reduced falls.
The WSJ article touches on just a few of the amazing health benefits of exercise I’ve been talking and writing about for nearly three decades, including that exercise can:
Reduce your cancer risk
Slow the aging process in your body
Boost your immune system
How Exercise Helps You Fight Cancer
Cancer thrives on sugar.
Regular exercise reduces your insulin levels, which creates a low sugar environment that discourages the growth and spread of cancer cells. Controlling your insulin levels is one of the most powerful steps you can take to reduce your cancer risk.
Physically active adults experience about half the incidence of colon cancer as their sedentary counterparts. Exercise has a beneficial influence on insulin, prostaglandins and bile acids, all of which are thought to encourage the growth and spread of cancer cells in your colon. Exercise also improves bowel transit time, which means your body’s waste is spending less time in contact with the mucosal lining of your colon.
As the Wall Street Journal article points out, women who exercise regularly can reduce their breast cancer risk by 20 to 30 percent over their inactive counterparts. This is likely due to a lowering of estrogen levels.
The article cites a study in which women being treated for breast cancer were 50 percent less likely to die of the disease if they walked at an average pace for three to five hours a week.
Think about it. If just three to five hours of walking per week can so drastically improve your chances of surviving a hormone-responsive breast cancer tumor, imagine what a few more hours a week of exercise could do for you.
If you’re male, be aware that athletes have lower levels of circulating testosterone than non-athletes, and similar to the association between estrogen levels and breast cancer in women, testosterone is known to influence the development of prostate cancer in men.
Physical activity can reduce your risk.
A Cure for Aging?
Have you heard the news about telomeres?
Telomeres are strands of DNA at the ends of your chromosomes which protect them from damage. Gradual erosion of telomeres leads to aging on a cellular level –think of them as a kind of biological clock.
As telomeres shorten more, cell death occurs. These cell deaths are associated with serious disease and premature aging
There is no question that the leading edge of anti aging research is on how to prevent telomere shortening and actually develop therapies to lengthen telomeres. Many experts believe that lengthening telomeres could actually turn the biological clock backwards.
Since exercise has been associated with preventing telomere shortening, it is clearly a very powerful anti aging strategy.
Research indicates physically active people have significantly less erosion of telomeres than even healthy, non-smoking, but sedentary folks. Exercise activates the enzyme telomerase which stabilizes telomeres, producing an anti-aging effect at the cellular level.
Other equally important factors in slowing the aging process include:
A healthy diet based on your individual nutritional type
A method to address your emotional challenges and daily stressors
Exercise Boosts Your Immune System
Exercise improves the circulation of immune cells in your blood. The job of these cells is to neutralize pathogens throughout your body.
The better these cells circulate, the more efficient your immune system is at locating and defending against viruses and diseases trying to attack your body.
Your immune system is your first line of defense against everything from minor illnesses like a cold or the flu right up through devastating, life-threatening diseases like cancer. It’s not possible to be optimally healthy if your immune system is weak or compromised.
Prescribing Exercise
I wasn’t surprised to read in the WSJ article that only four out of 10 medical doctors ever mention the importance of exercise to their patients, despite its proven health benefits.
According to Dr. Robert Sallis, co-director of sports medicine at Fontana Medical Center in California:
“Exercise can be used like a vaccine to prevent disease and a medication to treat disease. If there were a drug with the same benefits as exercise, it would instantly be the standard of care.”
Typical of conventional medical thinking, somehow a vaccine or other drug with the same benefits as exercise would be preferable to exercise itself.
No, it would not.
But it’s at least encouraging to see recognition of this type for exercise as both prevention and cure.
If you’re a regular reader of this newsletter and my website, you know I’ve long touted the importance of viewing exercise as a drug.
Actually writing out a prescription for exercise is an excellent way to take a proactive approach to your health. A great tool for creating your own exercise prescription is my Daily Exercise Table.
The Time is Now
No matter your age, exercise can provide enormous benefits for your health.
If you happen to be over 40 it’s especially important to either start or step up your exercise program. This is the time of life when your physical strength, stamina, balance and flexibility start to decline.
I can’t stress enough the importance of using precision to develop your individual workout program. You need to make sure you’re getting enough exercise to achieve all the benefits, but not so much that you injure yourself, and you need variety to condition and build your entire body and prevent boredom.
Your program should include aerobic exercise, anaerobic (interval) training, weight strength training, and core exercises to build, strengthen and improve the flexibility of all the muscles of your body, like yoga, Pilates or active isolated stretching
If you’ve been sedentary for any length of time or you’re out of shape for some other reason, it is vitally important to get started with an exercise program – but start small. One of the main reasons people don’t stick with a workout program is because they go too hard, too fast and wind up with an injury, illness or simple exhaustion.
Write your own exercise prescription based on factors including:
Once you reach a normal weight, you can drop back to 45 minutes at least four times a week and still reap the incredible health benefits of regular exercise.
Published by connie on February 10th, 2010 in Information.
Our episode of Parks and Recreation aired last night on NBC! In case you missed it, you can watch it above. We’re psyched that we got to share our scene (around the 10:40 mark) with DJ Roomba.
A novel non-traditional physical therapy method is available for advanced Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients that do not respond well to medications such as L-dopamine. Scientists from the Sun Life Financial Movement Disorders Research and Rehabilitation Centre from Ontario, Canada have shown that short term whole body vibration therapy significantly improves the clinical symptoms (loss of gait, tremors and akinesia) of PD patients. In this clinical study, a sample population of 40 PD patients were subject to intensive therapy for a few weeks using a Physioacoustic Chair, an sophisticated device containing speakers that are strategically placed throughout the chair in order to deliver programmed low frequency sound waves throughout the body of the patient.
This study is remarkable in the sense that acoustic therapy had a significant impact on the well being and quality of life of PD patients. In brief, the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS), gait assessments and upper limb control tests showed significant improvements on gait stability and posture, increased stepping time and speed on the peg-board task, a significant decrease in tremors and less rigidity in PD patients receiving whole body vibration therapy compared to a control group that received no therapy. More importantly, this study showed that whole body vibration therapy may also be applied to PD patients that do not respond well to L-dopamine medication or deep brain stimulation, a complicated risky surgery that involves delivering mild electrical shocks to the brain via implanted electrodes. The latter technique is used as a last resort to stabilize tremors and rigidity in PD patients.
Whole body acoustic stimulation vs. conventional physical therapy for treating PD
Before this study, another previous study conducted about a year ago showed that whole vibration therapy is even more effective in reversing many of the clinical symptoms of PD patients compared to conventional physical therapy. Specifically, this particular study showed that whole body vibration therapy improved equilibrium and gait four weeks after undergoing an intensive three week regimen consisting of 15 minutes a day for five days a week.
Remarkably, this study quantitatively also suggests that whole body vibration therapy is more efficient (25% more efficient) than conventional physical therapy for partially reversing clinical symptoms in PD patients that do not respond well to L-dopamine. It will be interesting to know whether a combined therapy that uses both whole body and conventional intervention techniques has an additive/ synergistic positive effect in reversing clinical PD symptoms compared to single treatment intervention.
Whole body vibration therapy has also been used in the past to treat patients affected by neuromuscular debilitating and neurodegenerative disorders such as multiple sclerosis, stroke, cerebral palsy, Huntington’s chorea, and other movement disorders. It is not known how whole body acoustic therapy works in Parkinson’s disease patients but it is believed that high vibrational frequencies help to partially restore some of the sensory perception (proprioception) that is lost during the progression of the disease and is also used to enhance muscle coordination, a physical trait that is lost during the progression of PD. Finally, high frequency sound waves delivered via physicoacoustic devices has been shown to improve blood flow, electrical conductivity and metabolism of muscle tissue.
What is Parkinson’s disease?
PD is an age-related, relentless, chronic and incurable neurodegenerative disease that affects different regions in the brain (the midbrain) that are enriched with dopaminergic neurons, neurons that produce dopamine. A 90% loss of dopaminergic neurons in the brain results in motor impairment and muscle coordination in the affected patient. These symptoms include but are not limited to postural tremors, instability and loss of gait, slow movement (bradykinesia) or complete loss of movement (akinesia). Many of you are familiar the PD related tremors exhibited by the actor Michael J. Fox, a successful actor famous who starred in the Back to the Future movie sequels and who founded the Michael J. Fox Foundation.
To this date, there is no cure for this devastating disease that affects a little more than 1% of the total U.S. population. Over more than 90% of cases of PD have no known cause (sporadic cases). The only effective treatment so far is the administration of Levodopa, a synthetic analog of dopamine, and/or dopamine receptor agonists (bromocriptine) which efficiently alleviates tremors and bradykinesia in PD. Adjunct pharmacological therapy include administration of monoamine oxidase inhibitors (selegiline and rasagaline) and Carvidopa (an aromatic decarboxylase inhibitor) with the goal of increasing the levels of dopamine in the brain by inhibiting the enzymes involved in the breakdown of dopamine. Other more sophisticated and extremely expensive treatments include deep brain stimulation, a very complicated procedure that involves electrically inactivating small inhibitory regions of the brain in order to increase excitatory dopaminergic stimuli through electrical stimulations.
What causes Parkinson’s disease?
PD is a multi-factorial disease in which environmental and genetics play a role. One theory that has gained widespread attention in the medical and scientific community is that exposure to environmental factors, such as pesticides and oxidative stress (free radicals), lead to a rapid decline in the function of mitochondria, the energy generators and powerhouses of the cell, in dopaminergic neurons over time. Moreover, certain genes (PINK1, Parkin, DJ-1, alpha-synuclein, and Parkin) which are found to be mutated in PD patients, have been shown to lead to mitochondrial dysfunction, decrease energy production along with an increase in free radicals in animal models of PD.
Jan. 3, 11:45 am. Pittsburgh Medical Technology Examiner Ruben Dagda
Whole-Body Vibration Induced Adaptation in Knee Extensors; Consequences of Initial Strength, Vibration Frequency, and Joint Angle
SAVELBERG, HANS H.C.M.; KEIZER, HANS A.; MEIJER, KENNETH
Abstract
It was hypothesized that both vibration frequency and muscle length modulate the strengthening of muscles that is assumed to result from whole-body vibration (WBV). Length of knee extensor muscles during vibration is affected by the knee joint angle; the lengths of the knee extensors increase with more flexed knee joint angles. In an intervention study 28 volunteers were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 groups. Each group received 4 weeks of WBV at 1 of 3 different frequencies (20, 27, or 34 Hz) or 1 of 2 different lengths of knee extensors. Voluntary, isometric knee extension moment-angle relationship was determined. Initially, stronger subjects reacted differently to WBV than weaker participants. In stronger subjects knee extension moment did not improve; in the weaker subjects considerable improvements were observed ranging from 10 to 50%. Neither vibration frequency nor muscle length during the intervention affected the improvements. In addition to strength, the knee joint angle at which the maximal joint moment was generated (optimal joint angle) was affected. When trained at short muscle lengths, optimal angle shifted to more extend joint position. WBV training at long muscle lengths tended to induce an opposite shift. The amount of this shift tended to be influenced by vibration frequency; the lower the vibration frequency the larger the shift. Shifts of optimal lengths occurred in both weaker and stronger subjects. This study shows that muscle length during training affects the angle of knee joint at which the maximal extension moment was generated. Moreover, in weaker subjects WBV resulted in higher maximal knee joint extension moments. Vibration frequency and muscle length during vibration did not affect this joint moment gain.
(C) 2007 National Strength and Conditioning Association
Published by connie on January 21st, 2010 in Information.
Building and Flexing Your Muscles Reduces The Risk For A Cancerous Condition
The findings, by an international team of researchers, suggest muscular strength is as important as staying slim and eating healthily when it comes to protecting the body against the formation of tumors due to tissue acidosis.
The scientists who came up with the findings are recommending men weight train at least twice a week, exercising muscle groups in both the upper and lower body.
Dr. Robert O. Young, Director of Research at the pH Miracle Living Center has recommended a healthy alkaline diet and lifestyle for over twenty-five years – including regular aerobic exercise such as jogging, swimming, walking, rebounding, whole body vibration or cycling to reduce the risks if all sickness and dis-ease.
But the latest study, published in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention, suggests it may be just as important to build up muscle strength.
A team of experts, led by scientists from Sweden’s Karolinska Institute, tracked the lifestyles of 8,677 men aged between 20 and 82 for more than two decades.
Each volunteer had regular medical check ups that included tests of their muscular strength.
Between 1980 and 2003, researchers monitored how many developed cancerous conditions and subsequently died from it.
The results showed men who regularly worked out with weights and had the highest muscle strength were between 30 and 40 per cent less likely to lose their life to a deadly acidic cancerous condition.
Even among volunteers who had excess tummy fat or a high body mass index, regular weight training seemed to have a protective effect.
Why?
According to Dr. Young, “exercising, including weight training will force tissue acidity either out through the pores of the skin or back into general blood circulation to be eliminated through urination.”
In a report on their findings the researchers stressed keeping a healthy weight was still crucial for avoiding premature death.
But they added: “In the light of these results, it is equally important to maintain healthy muscular strength levels.
“It’s possible to reduce cancer mortality rates in men by promoting resistance training involving the major muscle groups at least two days a week.”
A spokesman for Cancer Research UK said resistance exercise might have some benefit but it was more important to regularly do some cardiac exercise.
Health information officer Jessica Harris said: “There’s no need to become a body builder. Just 30 minutes of moderate exercise five times a week that leaves you warm and slightly out of breath can have a positive effect.”
Dr. Young states, “contraction of the muscles moves dietary and/or metabolic acid out of the tissues into the lymphatic circulation and then out through the pores of the skin or through urination. If you want to be healthy you have to sweat and pee your way to health.”
According to Fox Business, the US Ski and Snowboard teams are using whole body vibration exercise as part of their training regime for the 2010 Olympics.
Troy Flanagan, Director of Sport Science for the teams says that they will be using whole body vibration platforms in the warm up area at the base of the race hill at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics. They’ll be using this technology to warm up immediately prior to their races.
Flanagan believes that this will be an important factor in their success.
“We find the machine incredibly useful for waking up the neurological system and applying loads through the body that we just can’t get from traditional weight training.“
When the central nervous system is injured for whatever reason, this may lead to a variety of different impairments on our body’s functionial ability such as walking function. Vibration has been shown to improve our ability to walk correctly and free of problems. Therefore, a study was conducted by the Universtiy of Miami’s “Miami Project to Cure Paralysis” to determine whether repeated use of Whole Body Vibration is in fact correlated with improving the walking function in individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI).
Seventeen individuals with chronic motor-incomplete SCI (chronic = had condition for at least one year) were the subjects of the study. They were tested before and after they participated in twelve sessions (3 days/week for 4 weeks) of intervention with WBV. Their walking function and the change therein was assessed via 3D motion capture, walking speed being the primary outcome measure. The study also assessed the influence of the WBV intervention on secondary gait characteristics, including cadence, step length and hip-knee intralimb coordination. The subjects’ walking speed went up significantly by a mean of 0.062 +/- 0.011 m/s, denoting a noteworthy statistical change (p < 0.001).
Additionally, the WBV study also demonstrated significant statistical increases in cadence. Both the stronger and weaker legs exhibited farther step length and enhanced the consistency of intralimb coordination. As a result, improvements in walking speed were strongly correlated with these changes in cadence and step length in the stronger leg. The improvement in walking speed observed with the WBV intervention was comparable to that reported in the literature in association with locomotor training. Even in non-clinical populations this magnitude of change has been deemed clincally meaningful. Therefore, the study’s observations suggest WBV may improve walking function with effects that may persist for some time following the intervention.
Researchers have found one more reason that exercise is good for you: Moderate daily workouts appear to lessen the severity of flu symptoms and even help keep the flu at bay in mice.
Scientists at Iowa State University found mice that regularly ran on a treadmill over a 3 1/2 month period developed less severe symptoms from the flu virus and had less influenza and lower levels of inflammation factors in their lings than those that were not subjected to exercise. Findings appeared in the Nov. 1 print issue of the Journal of Infectious Diseases.
“Perhaps the moderate stress from repeated exposure to moderate exercise might then improve your ability to respond to other stressed, such as influenza,” says Marian Kohut, associate professor of kinesiology at Iowa State and the study’s lead researcher. “We’re continuing to try and find out if that’s true, then what are the mechanisms?”
Iowa State University
Oregonian Article from Wednesday November 4th, 2009
Mechanical equipment for body building has been around for quite some time now. A recent entrant in this field is the Whole Body Vibration Machine (WBV). These machines employ low magnitude and low speed vibrations which are gentle in nature. The principle of the WBV is that the body consists of billions of cells. These cells need individual bundles of energy steadily and on a continuous basis so that they can perform the tasks assigned to them. Normally it is not possible to ensure an equitable distribution of energy to each independent cell. There could be numerous reasons for this. Briefly expressed – our lifestyle prevents us from energizing our body and its individual cells constantly. This results in obesity. A well designed whole body vibration machine, on the other hand, ensures even distribution of energy throughout the body. The WBV therefore, is especially useful for people who are on the go. Research on WBVResearch has been carried out on post menopausal women who naturally tend to develop osteoporosis. Research findings have confirmed that regular use of vibration platforms results in improved hip bone mass density besides muscle strength, both dynamic and isometric. The findings have therefore recommended the use of WBV for prevention of fractures and falls in respect of older women. Advantages of WBV- Brings about a strengthening of muscles, as much as 50% over 3 weeks. – Combats osteoporosis and improves bone density. – An improvement in coordination and the sense of balance. – Reduction of pains in joints and back. – Increases metabolic rate and reduces fat. – Improvement in blood circulation and oxygen absorption. – Reduction in cellulite. – Reduction in blood pressure. – A mood elevator. Creates a feeling of well being. – Raises testosterone levels. The CostThe cost of a portable model WBV can very based on the features and the design complexity. Contraindications- Pregnant women. – Those with medical restrictions. – Those who have had surgery recently or implants in joint, foot, hip or knee.
The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research:
According to Fox Business, the US Ski and Snowboard teams are using whole body vibration exercise as part of their training regime for the 2010 Olympics.
When the central nervous system is injured for whatever reason, this may lead to a variety of different impairments on our body’s functionial ability such as walking function. Vibration has been shown to improve our ability to walk correctly and free of problems. Therefore, a study was conducted by the Universtiy of Miami’s “Miami Project to Cure Paralysis” to determine whether repeated use of Whole Body Vibration is in fact correlated with improving the walking function in individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI).
Researchers have found one more reason that exercise is good for you: Moderate daily workouts appear to lessen the severity of flu symptoms and even help keep the flu at bay in mice.
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