Vibration Technology

[NewTestament]

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My aunt says as a result of vibration technology, her back "shook itself into position." Is there any good research in the literature about vibration technology? Is it a fad? Does it hold promise? Are any PTs using this? I haven't seen one myself in all the clinics I've been to and I didn't learn about it in modalities.

Kevin

 

[goyo1010]

My aunt says as a result of vibration technology, her back "shook itself into position." Is there any good research in the literature about vibration technology? Is it a fad? Does it hold promise? Are any PTs using this? I haven't seen one myself in all the clinics I've been to and I didn't learn about it in modalities.

Kevin

Vibration technology? Did she mean whole body vibration (WBV)? The current evidence on whole body vibration for low back pain is contradictory. There are still very few well-designed RCTs that look at the effects of WBV on low back pain. There are 2 or 3 studies that have looked at WBV on back pain:

• Perraton L, Machotka Z, Kumar S. Whole-Body Vibration to Treat Low Back Pain: Fact of Fad? Physiother Can. 2010;preprint. doi:10.3138/ptc.2009.44.
  
  [*]Conclusions: WBV as a treatment modality should be used with caution.​
• Elfering A, Thomann J, Schade V, Radlinger L. Stochastic resonance whole body vibration reduces musculoskeletal pain: A randomized controlled trial. World J Orthop. 2011;2(12):116-120.
  
  [*]Conclusions: WBV reduced MSK pain in young health individuals. Not specific to low back.​

There are a few other studies that look at WBV with CLBP, but the methodology is poor. There are studies that look at WBV on patient with neurodegenerative disorders (mostly PD, a few on MS, my professor is currently looking at PPS) that are higher quality with some promising short-term results; however, the therapeutic effect long-term still needs to be researched. In addition, the variables the studies look at are all different, each one measuring different aspects of strength, gait, functional capacity, etc.

 

[vitalityforlife]

How would one go about researching long-term effects on neurodegenerative diseases?

 

[goyo1010]

How would one go about researching long-term effects on neurodegenerative diseases?

That's the issue--the therapuetic long-term effects of WBV hasn't been established or researched enough. There have been short-term changes observed after a single session and after multiple sessions. But follow up studies are scarce. WBV is theorized to work via neurological adaptions (via the tonic stretch reflex) rather than actual myogenic changes in strength. Would this modality be a effective if used long-term? Or is it's efficacy limited to the short-term? And if used long-term, what are the sequelae to long-term WBV expsores (it's been found that chronic exposure to certain amplitudes and frequencies of vibratory stimuli can be harmful, e.g. the case with long-distance truck drivers). You can search PubMed and read the abstracts or the actual articles if you have access. Of use pedro.org.au for available reviews and RCTs with PEDro scores (looks at the quality of the studies).

 

[DesertPT]

Sounds like something likely to be used in tandem with reflexology, magnet therapy and a healthy does of echinacea...

 

[Azimuthal]

I think that some approaches can be dangerous, especially with little evidence of side effects. This is especially true when these treatments are more aggressive.

Take a look here: http://youtu.be/1EXx-4wtm9A

True success story? I don't know...

 

[DesertPT]

Take a look here: http://youtu.be/1EXx-4wtm9A

True success story? I don't know...

Huh, interesting. I'd like to see the whole story there, rather than just seeing the promo for the chiropractor that supposedly did it.

 

[Azimuthal]

Huh, interesting. I'd like to see the whole story there, rather than just seeing the promo for the chiropractor that supposedly did it.

Yeah, I don't know. Apparently she is currently suffering from some neurological issues.