Whole-body vibration (WBV) has been shown to enhance vertical jump performance. The purpose of this study was to determine which WBV intensity has the greatest effect on counter movement jump (CMJ) height and the duration of that affect. Forty-four participants, of varying training statuses, were tested. They participated in > 4 familiarization sessions, to eliminate learning effects. Participants performed a pre-test, followed randomly by one of 5 WBV intensities. Participants performed 3 maximal CMJs immediately, 5, and 10 min following treatment. The best performance was used and calculated as a percentage of the pre-treatment values. A multivariate model (treatment X time X gender) was used to analyze the data. The three-way interaction approached significance (p=0.053) and significance was found for all two way interactions. Females performed the best immediately following the 2.71g treatment (116.9 + 38.4%). Male participants did not increase their performance; however, they may require longer durations of vibration exposure to elicit effects. The differences between males and females may also indicate that the effects of WBV are dependent on strength, stiffness, and/or training levels. Future research should continue to systematically investigate the effects of vibration and participant characteristics on WBV and performance.Keywords: power, frequency, amplitude, training, potentiation, stiffness. / School of Physical Education, Sport, and Exercise Science

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of whole body vibration training on selected health and fitness parameters, including: blood glucose levels, blood pressure, anthropometric profile, muscular flexibility, muscular strength, muscular endurance, and aerobic endurance of persons with diabetes mellitus type II. The study was conducted in a descriptive, explorative manner utilizing a quasiexperimental design with an equistatic approach, employing match-pair design to participant grouping. The experimental design was a non-randomized two-group pre- and post-test design, in which approximately 16 male and female participants, who were chosen through convenience and snowball sampling with diabetes mellitus type II, completed the study. Pre- and post-test analysis was performed at the Biokinetics and Sport Science Unit. The whole body vibration training (experimental) group, trained three times a week for a period of ten weeks, performing exercises on the vibration platform with progressive increments in the intensity, duration, and number of the exercises. The control group remained sedentary throughout the intervention period. The dependant variables were analyzed using descriptive statistics. ANOVA was done to determine pre- and post-test differences for both the experimental and control groups for all the variables. Post-Hoc analysis was done to determine and compare differences which may have existed between the experimental and control groups, with practical significance being determined by Cohen’s D analysis. The analysis of the results revealed significant improvements in systolic blood pressure, muscular strength, muscular endurance, and aerobic endurance.

Response characteristics and tactile coding capacities of single neurons of the dorsal column nuclei (DCN), and the dorsal horn, in particular, neurons of the spinocervical tract (SCT), were investigated in anaesthetized cats. Purely dynamically-sensitive tactile neurons of the DCN could be divided into two classes, one associated with hair follicle afferent (HFA) input, the other with Pacinian corpuscle (PC) input. The HFA-related class was most sensitive to low-frequency (&lt50 Hz) vibration, had phaselocked responses to vibration frequencies up to ~75 Hz and had a graded response output as a function of vibrotactile intensity changes. PC-related neurons had broader vibrotactile sensitivity, extending to ~300 Hz with tightest phaselocking between 50 and 200 Hz. The SCT neurons in the lumbar dorsal horn had tactile receptive fields on the hairy skin of the hindlimb and a very limited capacity to signal, in a graded way, the intensity parameter of the vibrotactile stimulus. Furthermore, because of their inability to respond on a cycle-by-cycle pattern at vibration frequencies above 5-10 Hz, these neurons were unable to provide any useful signal of vibration frequency beyond ~5-10 Hz, in contrast to DCN neurons. In the parallel human psychophysical study, the capacity for vibrotactile frequency detection and discrimination was examined in five subjects in glabrous and hairy skin. The vibrotactile detection threshold values obtained at four standard frequencies of 20, 50, 100 and 200 Hz were markedly higher on the hairy skin than on the glabrous skin. The discrimination task was examined by means of a two-alternative, forced-choice psychophysical procedure. Measures of the discriminable frequency increment (?????) and the Weber Fraction (????? / ??), revealed similar capacities for frequency discrimination at the two different skin sites at the standard frequencies of 20, 100 and 200 Hz, but an equivocal difference at 50 Hz. Cutaneous local anaesthesia in the dorsal forearm produced a marked impairment in vibrotactile detection and discrimination at the low frequencies of 20 and 50 Hz but little effect at higher frequencies, confirming that vibrotactile detection and discrimination in hairy skin depend upon superficial receptors at low vibrotactile frequencies, but depend on deep, probably Pacinian corpuscle receptors for high frequencies.

As more adults with cerebral palsy (CP) are surviving longer (1) an intervention is needed to help reduce spasticity and increase overall strength to improve mobility, and therefore life quality. Adults with CP are lacking a form of independent exercise that allows them to maintain or improve their ambulation skills (1, 2). A new approach to increase muscle strength and flexibility is called whole-body vibration (WBV). The goal of the current study was to determine the acute effects of using an individualized frequency (I-Freq) approach to WBV therapy on gait in adults with CP. In this study, eight adults with CP (age 20-51 years, six men, two women) participated in two sets of testing: the first set was used to determine their I-Freq and the second set to perform a 3D gait analysis before and after a WBV treatment. The WBV was administered in five sets of one minute of vibration followed by one minute of rest. The gait analyses included collection of kinematic and EMG data. Subjects experienced a significant increase in walking speed (P=0.047), stride length (P=0.017) and dynamic ankle range of motion (P=0.042) after the acute bout of WBV. These data show that WBV treatments at I-Freq could help adults with CP maintain their range of motion and overall mobility through an independent and cost effective means. 1. Murphy KP. The adult with cerebral palsy. Orthop Clin North Am2010 Oct;41(4):595-605. 2. Murphy KP, Sobus K, Bliss PM. The Adult with Cerebral Palsy: A Provider-Consumer Perspective. Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Clinics of North America2009 Aug;20(3):509-+. / School of Physical Education, Sport, and Exercise Science

The purpose of this study was to examine the fibrinolytic response to whole body vibration (WBV) and exercise in men. Methods. Twenty healthy males (23.8 ± 4.2 years, 80.8 ± 3.3 kg·mˉ²) participated in the study. Each subject performed 3 trials in randomized order separated by 1 week. The trials consisted of exercise (X), vibration (V) and vibration + exercise (VX). Exercise sessions consisted of 15 minutes of unloaded squatting at a rate of 20 per minute. Vibration sessions were conducted on a WBV platform vibrating at a frequency of 30 Hz and amplitude of 1.5mm for 15 minutes. Plasma concentrations of active tPA and PAI-1 samples were assessed at baseline and immediately after each session. Results. tPA activity change from pre to post trial was found to be significantly greater in the VX condition (0.87 ± 0.35 IU·mlˉ¹ to 3.21 ± 1.06 IU·mlˉ¹) compared to the X (0.71 ± 0.36 IU·mlˉ¹ to 2.37 ± 1.13 IU·mlˉ¹) or V (0.83 ±0.25 IU·mlˉ¹ to 1.00 ± 0.37 IU·mlˉ¹) condition. tPA activity change from pre to post trial was found to be significantly greater in the X condition compared to the V condition. PAI-1 activity change from pre to post trial was found to be significantly decreased in the VX (6.54 ± 5.53 IU·mlˉ¹ to 4.89 ± 4.13 IU·mlˉ¹) and X (9.76 ± 8.19 IU·mlˉ¹ to 7.48 ± 7.11 IU·mlˉ¹) conditions compared to the V (5.68 ± 3.53 IU·mlˉ¹ to 5.84 ± 3.52 IU·mlˉ¹) condition. Heart rate change from pre to post exercise for the V condition (pre, 75 ± 8 bpm; post, 90 ± 7 bpm) was less than the change in the VX condition (pre, 77 ± 13 bpm; post, 148 ± 19 bpm) and X condition (pre, 71± 11 bpm; post, 139 ± 22 bpm). The change in heart rate was found to be similar in the X and VX conditions. Peak RPE was not significantly different between X and VX sessions. Conclusions. WBV does not stimulate increased fibrinolytic activity in young men. However, the significant increase in fibrinolytic potential observed during squatting exercise is enhanced by concurrent WBV. / School of Physical Education, Sport, and Exercise Science

Whole body vibration (WBV) is a training modality that involves an individual standing on a plate that provides vibrations at multiple frequencies and amplitudes. Improvements in muscular concentric force production such as power and strength have been extensively studied, however little work has been conducted looking at the effects of WBV on eccentric actions. The landing phase of a jump is an eccentric mechanism to decelerate the body as it prepares to stop or initiate another movement. This study sought to identify the effects of WBV on ground reaction forces, loading rates, valgus knee angles, frontal plane knee moment and jump height, as well as a higher order interaction between gender and time as a result of the vibration. An individualized frequency WBV protocol was utilized as 10 female and 9 male subjects completed drop jumps pre-vibration, post vibration and at 10 and 20 minutes post vibration. Baseline valgus knee angle increased 0.857 degrees post vibration, while remaining increased by 0.917 and 1.189 degrees at the 10 and 20 minute post vibration time intervals, respectively. Repeated measure ANOVA’s revealed that valgus knee angle significantly (p=0.011) increased post vibration. Gender comparisons revealed that females had a significantly greater knee moment (p=0.038) and males significantly jumped higher than females (p<0.001). As an end result following WBV, the subjects landed in significantly greater knee valgus, regardless of sex. Since it has been demonstrated that a knee in a valgus position increases the potential risk for anterior cruciate ligament injury, caution should be taken when combining WBV and jump training protocols. / School of Physical Education, Sport, and Exercise Science

Response characteristics and tactile coding capacities of single neurons of the dorsal column nuclei (DCN), and the dorsal horn, in particular, neurons of the spinocervical tract (SCT), were investigated in anaesthetized cats. Purely dynamically-sensitive tactile neurons of the DCN could be divided into two classes, one associated with hair follicle afferent (HFA) input, the other with Pacinian corpuscle (PC) input. The HFA-related class was most sensitive to low-frequency (&lt50 Hz) vibration, had phaselocked responses to vibration frequencies up to ~75 Hz and had a graded response output as a function of vibrotactile intensity changes. PC-related neurons had broader vibrotactile sensitivity, extending to ~300 Hz with tightest phaselocking between 50 and 200 Hz. The SCT neurons in the lumbar dorsal horn had tactile receptive fields on the hairy skin of the hindlimb and a very limited capacity to signal, in a graded way, the intensity parameter of the vibrotactile stimulus. Furthermore, because of their inability to respond on a cycle-by-cycle pattern at vibration frequencies above 5-10 Hz, these neurons were unable to provide any useful signal of vibration frequency beyond ~5-10 Hz, in contrast to DCN neurons. In the parallel human psychophysical study, the capacity for vibrotactile frequency detection and discrimination was examined in five subjects in glabrous and hairy skin. The vibrotactile detection threshold values obtained at four standard frequencies of 20, 50, 100 and 200 Hz were markedly higher on the hairy skin than on the glabrous skin. The discrimination task was examined by means of a two-alternative, forced-choice psychophysical procedure. Measures of the discriminable frequency increment (?????) and the Weber Fraction (????? / ??), revealed similar capacities for frequency discrimination at the two different skin sites at the standard frequencies of 20, 100 and 200 Hz, but an equivocal difference at 50 Hz. Cutaneous local anaesthesia in the dorsal forearm produced a marked impairment in vibrotactile detection and discrimination at the low frequencies of 20 and 50 Hz but little effect at higher frequencies, confirming that vibrotactile detection and discrimination in hairy skin depend upon superficial receptors at low vibrotactile frequencies, but depend on deep, probably Pacinian corpuscle receptors for high frequencies.

The aim of the study was to determine and document evidence of the comparative effect of a 12- week whole body vibration training programme, exercise training programme and sedentary control group on the anthropometric profile, aerobic capacity, lung volumes and hence, the pulmonary capacity in people with asthma. The study used a descriptive, exploratory, quasi-experimental research approach employing randomised pairing to classify participants into either the whole body vibration therapy or exercise training group. Accidental and snowball sampling was used to identify and obtain a base of volunteers. A three-group pre-test/post-test design was employed to gain insight into statistical differences that might be apparent between the whole body vibration therapy group, the exercise group and the control group, and which could potentially be attributed to participation in the whole body vibration exercise programme. Randomised pairing for participant selection was selected because of the potential effects varying pulmonary variables might have had on the reliability of the study. A Physical Activity Selection Criteria Questionnaire was completed by participants to ascertain baseline physical activity readiness and as a means of determining selection criteria for their allocation to the whole body vibration training group, the experimental exercise group or the true control group. The pre-test/post-test assessment made use of a combination evaluation that incorporated an anthropometric profile assessment of height, weight, biceps, triceps, subscapular and suprailliac skinfolds, waist and hip circumference and posture, an aerobic capacity evaluation that incorporated aspects of both the YMCA and Astrand and Rhyming Physical Work Capacity (PWC) evaluation on a cycle ergometer and, lastly, a pulmonary variable assessment that made use of both the Datospir Peak-10 peak flow meter and the Spirovit SP-100AT spirometry unit integrated into the Cardiovit AT-6 model for all spirometry measurements. Participants were required to complete either the whole-body vibration or the exercise training programme a minimum of twice a week and a maximum of four times over the same period. The duration of the intervention programmes was approximately 30 minutes and consisted of three sections including a warm-up comprising flexibility exercises, whole body strength training exercises, and a cool-down which, in turn, consisted of massage exercises or replicated flexibility exercises. The main difference between the whole body vibration and exercise training group thus lay in the exclusion of the use of vibration for those participants assigned to the exercise training programme. Analysis of data was performed using descriptive and inferential statistics with the help of a qualified statistician. The identified variables were tested at a 95 percent level of probability (p<0.05) as recommended by Thomas and Nelson (1996:117). Descriptive data, in the form of a statistical mean, standard deviation, minimum, median and maximum values, obtained during this study were reported in the form of a t-score for selected anthropometric and pulmonary variables. The 12-week intervention programme, on analysis of the results, produced statistically insignificant improvements in the variables of anthropometric profile, aerobic capacity and lung volumes identified as determinants of, and factors influencing, the cardiorespiratory fitness level of participants with asthma and hence, the subsequent severity of this chronic condition. However, slight mean increases for the whole body vibration training group were evident for certain variables identified in this study. Based on the results, the inference could be made that whole body vibration therapy and exercise were both effective modes of training to improve the cardiorespiratory fitness level of people with asthma, but the results of the study did not show sufficient practical or statistical significance to verify the assumption that whole body vibration training was a method superior to conventional exercise training. Hence, the significance of whole body vibration training on the pulmonary variables of people with asthma could not be determined. The researcher recommends that future studies be undertaken to verify whether whole body vibration training incorporating larger participant groups could produce significant improvements in pulmonary variables in people with asthma.

Thesis (M.Tech.: Chiropractic)--Durban University of Technology, 2008 / Core strengthening has become a major trend in the rehabilitation of patients suffering with acute low back pain. Clinical trials have shown that core strengthening is beneficial for patients with low back pain. According to the literature, core strengthening consists of activating the trunk musculature in order to stabilize hypermobile symptomatic joints and thus, lessen mechanical stress to the spine. Literature suggests that vibration/acceleration training may be a more effective and sufficient method of core stability exercises, with regards to core muscle endurance and activation in treatment of acute low back pain. This may have more advantages than using traditional core stability exercises in the treatment of acute low back pain. However, vibration/acceleration training as core stability exercises has yet to be investigated. In order to choose the most appropriate treatment protocol for managing this condition, it is essential for research to be carried out to identify the most effective treatment, which would allow for better overall management of low back pain during the acute period. Therefore, this study was designed to establish the effectiveness of vibration/acceleration training as a core stability exercise in the treatment of acute low back pain and to establish whether this protocol should be utilized routinely in the management of this condition.

Thesis (MScIng)--University of Stellenbosch, 2004. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: A rough road vibration stimulus was reconstructed on a shaker platform to assess the dynamic comfort of seven seats by six human subjects. The virtual seat method was combined with a paired comparison procedure to assess subjective dynamic seat comfort. The psychometric method of constants, 1-up-1-down Levitt procedure and a 2-up-1-down Levitt procedure were compared experimentally to find the most accurate and efficient paired comparison scheme. A two-track interleaved, 2-up-1-down Levitt procedure was used for the subjective dynamic seat comfort assessment. SEAT value is an objective metric and has been widely used to determine seat vibration isolation efficiency. There was an excellent correlation (R2 = 0.97) between the subjective ratings and estimated SEAT values on the seat top when the values are averaged over the six subjects. This study suggests that the SEAT values, estimated from averaged seat top transmissibility of six carefully selected subjects, could be used to select the best seat for a specific road vibration input. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Ses persone het deelgeneem aan ‘n eksperiment, om die dinamiese ritgemak van sewe stoele te karakteriseer. ‘n Rowwe padvibrasie is vir die doel op ‘n skudplatform geherkonstrueer. Subjektiewe ritgemak is bepaal deur die virtuelestoel metode met ‘n gepaarde, vergelykingstoets te kombineer. Die psigometriese metode van konstantes, die 1-op-1-af Levitt procedure en die 2-op- 1-af Levitt procedure is vergelyk om die mees effektiewe en akkurate vergelykingstoets te vind. ‘n Tweebaan, vervlegde , 2-op-1-af Levitt prosedure het die beste resultate gelewer en is gekies vir die subjektiewe evaluasie van dinamiese ritgemak. SEAT-waarde is ‘n objektiewe maatstaf, wat gebruik word om te bepaal hoe effektief ‘n stoel die insittende van voertuigvibrasie isoleer. Daar was ‘n uitstekende korrelasie (R2 = 0.97) tussen subjektiewe dinamiese ritgemakevaluesies en SEAT-waardes in die vertikale rigting op die stoelkussing as die gemiddelde oor die ses persone bereken word. Uit die resultate van hierdie studie blyk dit dat SEAT-waardes, wat bereken is vanaf die gemiddelde sitplektransmissie van die ses persone, wat verteenwoordigend van die teikenbevolking is, gebruik kan word om die beste stoel vir ‘n spesifieke vibrasieinset te kies.