Whole-Body Vibration Therapy for Balance

Whole-body vibration therapy may improve balance for women with fibromyalgia, according to a new study.

Vibration therapy, also known as vibration healing, is the use of mechanical vibration to supposedly prevent, treat and promote recovery from a variety of physical ailments, including pain, sports injuries and bone density loss. Whole-body vibration therapy is applied for more systemic complaints. A patient stands on a machine or sits in a chair that vibrates. Many physical therapists for professional athletes use vibration therapy to decrease the recovery time after an injury. However, evidence of benefit is currently unclear.

In a new study, 30 postmenopausal women with fibromyalgia were randomly assigned to one of two groups. The first group participated in exercise training twice weekly as well as whole-body vibration therapy three days weekly. The second group participated in the same exercise program twice weekly, but did not participate in any whole-body vibration therapy. Muscle strength and balance were measured at the beginning of the study and then again after six weeks.

The researchers found that women who received whole-body vibration therapy had significant improvements in balance after six weeks when compared to the women who did not participate in vibration therapy. However, the authors noted that no significant improvements were found for strength.

The authors concluded that whole-body vibration therapy may improve balance for women with fibromyalgia. Addition research is necessary to further understand these findings.

Fibromyalgia is a complex, disabling and chronic (long-term) condition characterized by widespread long-term pain, fatigue and stiffness in the muscles, ligaments and tendons, as well as multiple tender points (places on the body where slight pressure causes pain). In addition to muscular pain and fatigue, fibromyalgia may also be associated with sleep problems, depression and an inability to think clearly.

The cause of fibromyalgia is unclear. Fibromyalgia is believed to be the result of central nervous system malfunction, resulting in amplification of pain transmission and detection. Researchers believe that several factors, including sleep disturbances, stress, family history of fibromyalgia, infection, injury, abnormalities in the nervous system and changes in muscle metabolism, may lead to the development of fibromyalgia.

For more information about integrative therapies for fibromyalgia, please visit Natural Standard's Comparative Effectiveness Database.

For more information about vibration therapy, please visit Natural Standard's Health & Wellness Database.

Comments

[J Squared]

My mother was diagnosed a couple of years back with fibromyalgia and was given to try the conventional therapies such as pregabalin, gabapentin, venlafaxine and amitriptyline with either limited benefits or increased side effects. The FDA approved drug for fibromyalgia is pregabalin, brand name Lyrica, although it does show to benefit it has many side effects such as dizziness and drowsiness, and loss of coordination. Other alternative medicine therapies that have been tried with success in the treatment of fibromyalgia are acupuncture and Thai yoga massage; my mother has certainly found relief with these. A combination of alternative medicine and modalites, exercise and drug therapy may have increased benefits in alleviating the burden of having fibromyalgia.

[MW]

I don't see how balance would matter to much in patients with fibromyalgia. The main complaint of fibromyalgia is pain. If a person is in pain I don't they really care if their balance is good. While I don't believe this study is important at least they are looking into potential treatments to help patients with fibromyalgia. It is a truly terrible condition.

[Virginia]

Using the natural standard website I was able to use their comparative effectiveness tool to see what other integrative therapies are used for fibromyalgia. The ones with some good scientific evidence were acupuncture and chlorella. Chlorella is a single-cell green algae that was believed to be a "superfood" that could supply calories, fat, vitamins, and amino acids. However, it loses most of its nutritional value when processed. For fibromyalgia 10g of "Sun Chlorella" tablets or 100mL of liquid "Wakasa Gold" for two months has been use.

[Virginia]

I happen to have fibromyalgia and happen to have used a vibrating exercise platform in the past. I agree that the vibrating platforms do wonders for muscle strength and balance. This article focuses on the vibration therapy can help fibromyalgia balance. I don't think balance is a major concern for fibromyalgia patients in particular and vibration therapy can help all people. In dealing with fibromyalgia I have found that when my body is in better shape and when I can exercise more efficiently without wearing my body down with very long workouts it helps. Using the vibration platforms while exercising helps build a healthy body faster which I think is what can really help fibromyalgia patients.

[Anonymous]

Vibration therapy as an alternative option for fibromyalgia initially seems skeptical. However, the data supporting its use for individuals suffering from fibromyalgia could be promising. I would be interested in seeing future studies conducted on this mode of healing.

[Pianist]

From Chinese Medicine point of view, vibration would activate all of the meridians, which is the "pressure points" along the body parts. Meridians activation will make the vital energy flow smooth and increases the metabolism of the body, also increases the alertness, also inhibits the pain signal transmission. Whole-body vibration therapy may improve balance for women with fibromyalgia is a very interesting points, I hope to see more of this kind of studies.

[cdesplaines]

Improving strength and balance is great for patients suffering with fibromyalgia. This study shows promising alternative therapies that improve quality of life. Alternative therapies are allowing patients to have a choice in their therapy. Traditional medications that are used in the treatment of fibromyalgia have several side effects. Vibration therapy is a great alternative in this population of patients!

[Colleen]

This is so interesting! I actually looked into vibration therapy a little bit when I was working on my fibromyalgia presentation a couple of weeks ago, it's always good to see new therapies for fibromyalgia. Although there are a lot of integrative therapies that might work, there aren't many with really good quality, robust, supportive data yet it seems. So many patients with fibromyalgia are more sensitive to the effects of prescription drugs, so non medication therapies that actually work will hopefully be an emerging area of research! Thanks for the info!

[Anna]

My mother suffers from fibromyalgia and sure enough, she has had several falls in the last few years! While none of them have been very serious yet, falls can be devastating as people get older and more frail. It could turn out that the improvement in balance doesn't actually correlate to a significant reduction in falls, but I would be interested to see more research on this topic!

[Anonymous]

Finding alternative therapies for treating fibromyalgia is important as the etiology is unknown and patients are often exposed to a variety of prescription medications (and therefore many unwanted side effects). Interesting, according to information provided on Natural Standard vibration therapy actually dates back to the Greeks who promoted its use to heal bruising and arthritis. Another interesting fact is that vibration therapy is used by NASA as a preventative therapy for osteoporosis in astronauts.

[Anonymous]

This study showed that statistically significant differences were found in reference to the Medio-Lateral Stability Index (MLSI) between the groups of women that participated in this study. The women who received the whole-body vibration treatments showed to have better stability outcomes. Although the Natural Standard database does not indicate the use of vibration healing for conditions such as fibromyalgia, vibration can be used to prevent and treat physical conditions. Natural Standard also provides an extensive list of CAM therapies that can be used for the treatment of fibromyalgia. For example, acupuncture has a Grade B level of evidence for use in the treatment of fibromyalgia. This would be a good alternative for those patients that choose not to take traditional medications.