It’s been around for 100 years and it’s still going strong but does it do anything, at all, apart from extract hard earned dollars from user’s wallets?
As people cut back on unnecessary expense, in hard economic times, serious questions are asked about the worth of fitness training methods; gym membership, pilates, private training, and more.
A Little History
Massage for the treatment of medical ailments — to stimulate blood circulation, aid relaxation, and improve muscle tone — has always been part of the human experience. It’s probably the oldest complete therapeutic system in the world. Affecting the mind as well as the body, acting as a rejuvenator, relieving stress, and aiding in re-balancing hormones it is accepted even when some discomfort is felt in the process. Hippocrates, the physician, learned massage along with gymnastics and the practice was held in high regard among the ancient Greek and Roman physicians.
Dr. John Kellogg (of Cornflake fame) designed some of the earliest mechanical vibration massage machines. These “Vibro-Therapy” contraptions included mechanical massage beds, chairs and foot massagers and were in use in the Battle Creek Sanitarium, Michigan U.S.A., around 1895. One such device accommodated up to five persons and provided hand, foot and body massage treatments simultaneously. Vibration Therapy was heavily used up till the time of the First World War and The Depression which saw many fitness centres and gyms having to close.
Move forward to the 1960’s, hyper-gravity loading principles were used by the Russian Space Program as it looked to combat the effect of zero gravity on its cosmonauts. NASA also began using Vibration Therapy devices to help prevent the loss of bone mass in its astronauts because, although you can’t do weights in space, vibration therapy doesn’t rely on weight; it relies on energy. In the 1970’s, Russian Scientists worked with dancers, rowers and Olympic athletes and found that vibration therapy, properly used, had potential to increase strength and flexibility.
Around thirty years later commercial interest began. Vibration machines became available in studios, gyms, and beauty clinics, with home models for sale in stores and on eBay, all accompanied with hype and advertising suggesting that no matter what type of machine (plastic, steel, lightweight, see-saw or upright motion), this exercise method that gave amazing results ranging from weight-loss to achieving a six-pack in a very short time.
Article comments
1 - Mike Hair
Good article Di..
I think you are right in saying this type of training is not going away, after 3+ years of running our own studio i am more excited today than i was when we started.
I have been to see Lloyd Shaws studio in operation twice and the machines he has created are amazing. Having the right machine makes all the difference.
As an ex bodybuilder I was totally blown away how holding a pose for 60 seconds bought my muscles to fatigue, normally with weight training i would work out hard for 45 minutes to get that stuffed feeling with sore muscles, on Lloyds high energy machines 10 minutes and i was knackered to the point of wanting to curl up in the corner and go to sleep.
I can not count how many people have benefited from this form of training.
It is not a fad. My customers are not that stupid that after 3 years if the results were not there that they would continue to waste money.
With a proper high energy machine people will continue to get results for years to come.
2 - Di Heap
The first time I got on a vibration machine it was at a shop that sold cheaper copies of many fitness machines. It was a see-saw motion machine and it made me dizzy, gave me a headache and was just plain scary.
But it was obviously not a fad. I could see that if that was a copy machine I wanted to try out a real one. Even the copy had enough force (very uncontrolled though) to elicit a muscle response.
I immediately recognised the potential (and the dangers I guess as I never wanted to use that cheap machine again).
3 - Keith
I have purchased all manner of home fitness equipment over the years trying to get the body the photos promised ha ha ha.
Want to buy some unused but fancy clothes hangers anyone?
Two years ago I took a leap of faith and bought a good quality lineal trainer having read a lot of pros and cons prior to buying. Thankfully the pros won and I have a machine that I prize and use regularly 2 years on. I have stopped going to the gym because I cant come close to achieving there what I get from vibration training and cardio exercise in a fraction of the time at home. I also dont have to put up with machines dripping with other users sweat.
Please dont knock this system until you have tried it and can comment on it based on personal experience.
You might just be harming someone who might have benefitted from it but gave it a miss because of negative comments.
There are just too many doctors, scientists, therapists and personal trainers coming aboard for it to be a passing fad.
Be a part of the future and embrace good technology.
Btw. I haven't received any electrical shocks as yet :-)
4 - Deb Pelletier
Fantastic article Di!
Your wisdom along with others that contribute to the evolution of this industry have been been invaluable to those of us trying to raise the bar here in North America.
Operating 2 years in our studio has proven to us and many of our clients that this is no fad. It is an industry of the verge becoming mainstream. It is the future...and I love going to work every day! What will I learn today? What new faces will I see? Nothing is more rewarding that seeing the look on someone's face when they have their first experience on a quality machine.
For those of you who doubt? Takes Di's advice, find a quality studio if you have access, and try for yourself. You have nothing to loose, but much to gain.
5 - Di Heap
Late yesterday two ladies came into the studio where I work; one was obviously athletic and well toned and her mother, well she had multiple problems and being very overweight was the least of them. My initial judgment was that this lady would not cope with the safety program and probably wouldn't like the sensation of the machine. So I put them side by side using machines with side handlebars so the mother would be more easily able to support her body weight when in a semi-squat position.
Surprise, surprise, the large lady with knee and ankle problems and 6months after a large surgery, on various meds etc, absolutely loved using the Vibra-Train machine and was so easy to work with, she kept position really well. Her athletic daughter struggled, her mind not grasping the concept of exercise without movement. Both ladies completed the safety program, the daughter moving onto a light sports model machine as she relaxed and grasped the concept, her mother using the side handlebar machine and the regular level 2 beginners machine. And I learnt a lot, firstly not to be too fast to judge and also I gained even more experience in managing people of differing abilities as there was also other customers in the studio who needed attention.
This experience is even more proof that vibration training is suitable for suitable almost everyone and especially suitable for people who simply cannot walk 1/2 a mile for exercise.
6 - Di Heap
An explanation of Keith's comment: "I haven't received any electrical shocks as yet"
This is a response to the writer of a previous article on Vibration Training suggesting that vibration machines worked by giving small electric shocks.
7 - Philippa Church
It's so frustrating as a studio owner to hear what should be educated intelligent people like Physios and personal trainers writing off vibration training when they have never stepped foot on a decent machine! As Mike says earlier - people are not that stupid that they keep coming to something that doesn't work. Our UK studio has Vibra-train machines. Having tried a whole range myself from cheap pivotals to Powerplates to other good steel machines such as Hypergravity, Bodyshaker and Vibrogym I can say without doubt these knock spots off the rest. We have a number of customers who have come to us from Powerplate who all recognise how much better these machines are. Vibration Training is no fad when done on good machines and a good programme and my very loyal and ever growing customer base is testament to that. I would defy any one who wants to knock this technology to try a good programme on a good machines and then come back and say it doesn't work. As Oscar Wilde said "Ignorance is like a delicate fruit; touch it, and the bloom is gone." Think maybe the lemons that rubbish our industry should try it properly first. Thanks Di for bringing these points up. :)
8 - XRCZLVR
I did not believe this worked until I tried a few machines. I had seen a product at a trade show in 2005 I have since found out was only a cheap copy. That settled the argument for me it was rubbish which I repeated ever since. I recently got dared to go on another brand and I got my ass kicked. What an eye opener that was on all levels. Mainly how even someone like me can be sucked in by flashy marketing at trade shows.
9 - Di Heap
This is a reply to a question asked about classification of some vibration machines by FDA
To answer your question about Vibraflex being approved as a Class 2 Medical Device in Canada"
The FDA Classifies Medical and wellness devices in the following order
Class 1 = General exercise or wellness equipment
Class 2= Durable Medical Equipment( Think Wheel Chair, Walker, Crutches,Commode, Cool Pads, TENS units etc)
Class 3= Pharmacueticals
Bassicly its a huge success for them becasue it means the governemnt is recognizing the equipment as an effective method of rehabilitation by moving the machine to class 2 status.
Think about it! A doctor can now prescribe one of thier machines to a patient and the insurance company( in this case Canadian government) will pay for some or all of the unit. The other thing that can happen is that the machine can be rented for a period of time by the insurance company on behalf of the patient. This is common for things like CPM( Continuous Passive Motion)Machines that get rented for patients to rehab after Shoulder and Knee surgeries.
Currently in the US" a doctor bills insurance companies with numeric codes known as CPT codes. Doctors can bill the use of WBV in thier office if they administer it but can’t prescribe the purchase of a unit to a patient becasue insurance companies will not cover it.
Give it a few years. All the research coming out now and you may soon see WBV accepted by the Medical community in United States as an effective treatment for things like, diabetes, obesity, osteopenia, osteoporosis, Fibromyalgia, Parkinson’s, MS, and more.
10 - Jon Hyams
Di,
Im glad you liked that bit I wrote about the FDA classifications. I spent about 3 hours on the phone today navigating through one of the largerst insurance companies in the United States. I'm close! I do now know that its all a game of jumping through bullsh*t hoops. I found out that an MD can prescribe a machine to a patient who then has to buy the machine and ask for partial reimbursement from thier insurance. I'll have more details when I know more.
On a side note- after reading about the post where some you clinic owners still encounter critics-- heres a funny story from the toughest critics on the planet- My parents!
I have been involved in this industry for about 5 years now. Everyone I know thought I was crazy when I began doing research and working for a vibration machine company. After years of taking on criticism from my family for what I was doing, I finally got my time in the sun. My parents visited me at my home where I keep my own Nitrofit Deluxe. My mother was complaining about severe back pain that had not let up in over a week. My father who is a bit of hypochondriac wanted to push her to go see a Chiropractor. My Dad jokingly said " why don't you put her on your vibration machine". I shot up and said "great idea". My mom was in so much pain that she was willing to get on my WBV machine and look past the 5 years of criticising me. I had her go through a few minutes of just sitting on the platform.(Note: she has very old pins in her hips from an accident and really bad knees so I couldn't let her perform any standing positions.) She got up off the machine and was amazed that her back pain had completely dissapeared. A few days later I got a call from her begging me to send her a machine. My dad having witnessed this immediate pain relief has since been telling every Chiropractor and Physiotherapist he knows about this machine.
Its frustrating to hear people degrade the things we are pouring our hearts into. But remember, for every ten skeptics who criticise us, there is at least one person who's life we have changed through WBV therapy or vibration training. For now the "thank you for helping me" testimony from my customers is all that I need to keep at it.
11 - Susan Rammer
I know what you mean. I thought it was complete BS because I could not figure out how it could work. My husband who is a very well known personal trainer and someones knowledge I really trust was dead against it. We had both put our foot on some contraption at a home show thinking, and being told by the salesman it was vibration training. Turned out to be a lie. It did nothing so seemed to confirm our suspicions. But a friend of mine whom I also trust, and works out harder than me, said she was doing it and it was very hard.
I have since tried it at a vibratrain studio and was blown away. Now I just have to convince my husband. Which will be hard because he hates admitting he doesn't know or understand something.
12 - Healthygirl
I have to say that i have tried them and they simply make me sick. I wonder how vibrations alone can work against your fat though.
13 - Di Heap - VibePlus
Hi Healthygirl
Did you read the article? Not all vibration = Vibration Training! Not all vibration will cause you to lose weight. I encourage you to read more articles on this site or at vibration-training-advice website.
How did using a machine make you sick? Please provide more information so know the machine brands well can tell you what really happened.