Effects of vibration exercise on muscle performance and mobility in an older population.
This study was designed to investigate the effects of vibration on muscle performance and mobility in a healthy, untrained, older population. Forty-three participants (23 men, 20 women, 66-85 y old) performed tests of sit-to-stand (STS), 5- and 10-m fast walk, timed up-and-go test, stair mobility, and strength. Participants were randomly assigned to a vibration group, an exercise-withoutvibration group, or a control group. Training consisted of 3 sessions/wk for 2 mo. After training, the vibration and exercise groups showed improved STS (12.4%, 10.2%), 5-m fast walk (3.0%, 3.7%), and knee-extension strength (8.1%, 7.2%) compared with the control (p < 0.05). Even though vibration training improved lower limb strength, it did not appear to have a facilitatory effect on functional-performance tasks compared with the exercise-without-vibration group. Comparable mobility and performance changes between the experimental groups suggest that improvements are linked with greater knee-extension strength and largely attributed to the unloaded squats performed by both exercise groups.
School of Leisure, Sport and Tourism, University of Technology, Sydney, Australia.
Sven
S
Rees
Aron
A
Murphy
Mark
M
Watsford
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D015444:Exercise / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D053580:Muscle Strength / Q000502:physiology*; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000502:physiology*; D010809:Physical Fitness; D004856:Postural Balance / Q000502:physiology; D014732:Vibration / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016138:Walking / Q000502:physiology