Vibration training has been reported to induce acute and chronic physiological adaptations to the skeletal, neuromuscular and central nervous systems, similar to those occurring after a period of resistance or explosive power training. This series of studies aimed to investigate the effects of a single session of vibration exercise, delivered either from a vibrating platform or via a vibrating dumbbell, on several physiological systems. A consistent finding across these studies is that vibration, be it whole body vibration (WBV) or upper-limb vibration, is a significant stressor to the neuromuscular system. Significant reductions in leg extensor muscle (Study I) and elbow flexor muscle (Study III) maximal voluntary isometric force (MVC) were observed following a session of WBV or upper-limb vibration exercise respectively. A single session of WBV however had no effect on bone turnover, endocrine status or voluntary muscle activation in healthy young adult males. The effect of altering the amplitude of vibration was investigated in a subsequent study. High amplitude WBV did not induce greater muscle activation compared to low amplitude WBV, with no significant effects on stretch shortening cycle, postural control, or hormonal status in healthy young adult males. In a similar fashion, a single session of VE with a vibrating dumbbell did not significantly alter maximal isometric force-generating capacity of elbow flexor muscles or the fluctuations in elbow flexion force in comparison to conventional isometric exercise. A novel finding from the research conducted in Study IV was that high speed ultrasonography could be used effectively to analyse vibration damping in-vivo. The results of this study suggest that transverse waves of vibration can be observed propagating along muscle fascicles when a vibratory stimulus is applied.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:600076 |
| Date | January 2013 |
| Creators | Erskine, Julie Anne |
| Publisher | University of Aberdeen |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://digitool.abdn.ac.uk:80/webclient/DeliveryManager?pid=203744 |
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