The Incredible Benefits of 10 Minutes of Vibration Therapy

Benefits of Vibration Therapy. This is not a novelty, but it’s been a real buzzword in the last decade. It has many promising potential benefits, from promoting weight loss and improving bone density to enhancing blood circulation and even relieving pain and stress. 

Many health and holistic practices worldwide offer vibration therapy as part of their wholesome regimen, helping patients and customers complement other aspects of their wellness journey. Here’s what only 10-15 minutes of daily vibration therapy can do for your health.

What is Vibration Therapy?

Vibration therapy has been known since the late 1900s, when doctors and scientists realized it could be incredibly beneficial to astronauts in improving their bone mass. Since then, it’s been an integral part of the NASA program, helping prevent bone loss and fractures. This obviously created a buzz amongst health practitioners and researchers, wanting to find a way to bring it into their practices and help many of their patients suffering from early onset osteoporosis. 

Many studies have been conducted in this space, resulting in positive findings that pushed this treatment into hundreds of sports and physiotherapeutic clinics worldwide. Just 10-15 minutes per day showed great results in not only preventing bone loss, but also strengthening and regaining bone mass density, relieving osteoarthritis, and even improving posture control and gait in postmenopausal women and older patients. 

How Does It Work?

Vibration therapy is also sometimes known as WBVT, or Whole Body Vibration Therapy, which differentiates it from localized vibration therapy. As its name states, localized or targeted vibration therapy is only used for certain parts of the body at a time, usually with a hand-held vibration device that goes directly onto a muscle or joint. 

Whole-body vibration therapy, on the other hand, involves standing, sitting, or lying on a vibrating plate or a machine that sends vibrations through your entire body. The transmitted vibrations cause a biomechanical response in your muscles, causing them to contract and release. They also send signals through your body to create more osteoblasts, tiny cells that play a huge role in creating new bone cells and improving your bone density. 

Vibration therapy can also be performed in a variety of ways, depending on the intensity as well as the direction of vibrations. These vibrations can be vertical, horizontal, mixed, or move through the body front to back, causing you to feel them both, in your anterior and posterior chain. As a part of your treatment, vibration therapy can be used 10-15 minutes each day, or 15-30 minutes three to four times a week. Both intensities and frequencies yield similar results, so it’s up to you and your time investment to find the tempo that works for you. Every individual is different, but as with everything else, consistency is key, and staying on top of your vibration therapy game will undoubtedly show great results in the span of a few months. 

Benefits of Vibration Therapy

In addition to the benefits for bone health, vibration therapy has shown some tremendous results in other areas too. Here are just some of the highlights: 

• Promotes Weight Loss: Vibration therapy has been researched for its positive effects on weight loss, and specifically fat loss. A 2021 meta-review of 2420 studies showed a significant impact of vibration therapy on fat loss, deeming it an excellent addition to exercise and a healthy diet. 
• Improves Balance: a 2019 study brought more points for vibration therapy, showing it as a great way to improve balance, coordination, and agility, even in untrained adults. This shows a great potential for the older population, helping prevent falls and joint fractures in the later phase in life. 
• Improves Circulation: Another area of the body where changes were noticeable after performing vibration therapy is the cardiovascular system. Research shows improved skin blood flow after only 10 minutes of therapy, which could, in long term, improve lymphatic drainage and removal of toxins, and even reduce the appearance of cellulite. 
• Relieves Pain: A study from 2014 showed how cutaneous vibration has the ability to reduce both, clinical and experimental pain, and a newer, 2023 study highlights vibration therapy for treatment of chronic lower back pain.  
• Alleviates Stress: Research shows a drop in the stress hormone cortisol after the use of vibration therapy. More studies have to be conducted in this space, but some recent research suggests a positive cognitive impact on the human brain. Additionally, there have been findings that vibration therapy produces a growth hormone-releasing effect when combined with squatting exercises. The human growth hormone (HGH) is an important hormone in the human body that plays a big role in overall growth and metabolism. As we age, its levels naturally diminish, and some experts believe that keeping its levels high for as long as we can will keep us looking and feeling younger. 
• Boosts metabolism: When combined with exercise, whole-body vibration therapy has been shown to boost metabolism. This in return helps aid digestion, burn more calories (and fat), and promote lymphatic drainage.
• Reduces muscle soreness: A study published in the Journal of Athletic Training suggests that whole-body vibration therapy might help reduce muscle soreness and even treat delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS). Additionally, it might even have some temporary benefits for people with Parkinson’s disease, reducing their tremors and rigidity. 

Precautions

Even though vibration therapy has shown a variety of incredible benefits, there are some things to keep in mind. The intensity of the vibrations has to be pleasant enough so your body can handle it, and the certified technician needs to be next to you to address any concerns that might arise. Too strong intensity might cause lumbar pain or an overall sense of anxiety, which can only make things worse. Additionally, if you’re undergoing medical treatment or are taking medications, it’s always best to talk to your doctor before starting vibration therapy.  

Final Thoughts

The benefits of vibration therapy can be an amazing addition to your wellness regimen, and with only 10 minutes per day, it’s something you can always add on to other treatments. Book your first visit to our clinic today and start reaping all the benefits!