Whole Body Vibration consists of a vibrating platform that the user stands on, or performs exercises on, which stimulates bones, muscles, blood vessels and cells in a manner that promotes their rapid development and circulation.
The tilting and oscillating movement of the plate stimulates the body’s natural “stretch reflex” which causes a spontaneous muscle contraction to instinctively stretch and contract: both movements occur at varying rates between 1-40 times per second. (1Hz to 40Hz) This movement produces mechanical oscillations with an average cycle length of about 40 msec, which is the time required to induce a natural monosynaptic stretching reflex in the respective muscle via the muscle spindle during one up and down vertical movement. The neuromuscular system reacts to this stimulation by a chain of rapid muscle contractions which result in entire-body vibration. In addition, studies have reported that activation of one muscle spindle will cause a reflex contraction and relaxation in many adjacent muscles.
Exercise causes the body to tire; rest allows the body to recover. By repeating this process, the body adjusts to the level of effort, resulting in an increase in physical performance. This phenomenon, called super-compensation, similarly occurs when training on a vibrating platform. However, compared with traditional training methods, greater results are achieved and hormonal production is increased in much less time when training on a vibrating platform.
