Whole Body Vibration Improves Posture

Whole Body Vibration Improves

Strength, Balance, Bone Density, Posture & Flexibility

As pictured here, only Dr. Nykwest's office has a doctor supervised environment with
Whole Body Vibration and Video Based Postural Biofeedback!
 

Whole Body Vibration (WBV) is a non-invasive technique wherein you need only stand on a vibrating platform in varying postures for 10 minutes or less to obtain clinical benefits such as:

1) Increased Muscle Strength.

2) Improved Sense of Balance.

3) Increased Bone Density.

4) Improved Posture.

5) Improved Flexibility.

Muscle Strength

WBV is delivered through a platform that you stand on. The frequency and amplitude of the platforms vibration is specifically modulated (~30Hz) to stimulate your bodies "proprioceptive mechanoreceptors", nerve sensors that monitor your joints, muscles and tendons. This stimulation results in a barage of impulses causing  muscle contractions in the target muscles at a rate of 30 times per second!  The muscles being targeted is primarily  determined by your body position on the WBV platform. Further targeting can be achieved by resistance exercise movements, using weights or elastic tubing, while on the WBV platform. 10 minutes of WBV can equal the muscle strengthening results it typically takes 45 minutes of resistance training to achieve! While professional and Olympic athletes may use WBV along with grueling traditional exercises to push their abilities that extra yard, Dr.Nykwest's main use of WBV is to help the many deconditioned people for whom rigorous exercise routines are either not practical, feasible or safe. WBV is safer than other forms of exercise for people that have compromises in their flexibility, muscle strength, bone density, cardiovascular health or a poor sense of balance.

Bone Density

The impulses of energy from the WBV platform cause  the absorption of calcium into the bone. This principle was first utilized by the Russian space program who exposed their cosmonauts to vibration to increase their bone density. This was necessary because the physiology of bone requires impact and strain to stimulate bone growth and calcium deposition. In the weightlessness of space however there is insufficient gravitational strain on the bone to stimulate normal bone physiology resulting in calcium loss from the bones begining within only eight hours in space. To extend the time the cosmonauts could spend in space without bone and muscle failure WBV was used to maximize bone density and muscle strength.

On earth the strain of lifting as well as the impact of walking and running stimulates the calcification of our bones. But what if you don't have the time, ability or inclination to perform weight lifting, walking or running? Or if you do, and your bone density is still low? 10 minutes of WBV three times per week has been demonstrated to increase the bone density of the hip! Of course, while the hip was the anatomical site that best lent itself to assessment in the below study, these effects could be equally beneficial throughout your body.
WBV & Bone Density References: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15040822

Posture

In addition to our WBV equipment Dr. Nykwest has equipped his office with an innovative "Video Based Postural Biofeedback" (VBPB)  system. This system allows you real time viewing of your posture as seen from ninety degrees to your side via a flat screen display. The display is mounted to a conventional mirror in front of you, allowing you to see your posture both from the front and the side at the same time. Many people are horrified to see for the first time how bad their posture looks to others when seen from the side! Fortunately, when Dr. Nykwest then cues them on postural correction, they are also delighted to discover how easy it is to improve their appearance.

Q: How does seeing my bad posture help me fix it?

A: Imagine throwing darts at a dart board that you can't even see. I'll bet you won't score well! Correcting the important postural problems such as a Forward Head Posture (Cervical Kyphosis) or Hunchback (Thoracic Hyperkyphosis) requires that you understand what your posture looks like so you can control your muscles and correct it. For years I have used photographs to show patients their postural problems. Now I have added real time video so you can see your posture, correct it, and hold that improved posture while standing on the WBV platform.

Once you are positioned on the WBV platform in an improved posture the vibrations cause your postural muscles to contract 30 times per second, toning them and firing the proprioceptors (position sensors) in the soft tissues that support the alignment of your spinal vertebrae. The rapid firing of your spines position sensors combined with the right exercise rapidly improves your posture.

Flexibility

Normally people use the feedback from their nervous systems proprioceptors to properly adjust their posture, gait and physical movement patterns. Many times however injury, postural fatigue, age or other factors cause "vertebral subluxations" (a misaligned spinal vertebra). The movements of your spinal vertebra trigger reflex changes in your postural muscles. Imagine a "joystick" on a plane or video game. You push the stick forward, the nose of the plane goes down. Pull the stick back, the nose goes up. Your vertebra act like a joy stick. Sensors in the ligaments around the vertebral joints fire off patterns of muscle contraction as the vertebra move. When a vertebra is "stuck" in some direction, the muscles that are reflexively "turned on" by that direction of movement remain abnormally tense. The muscles that are reflexively "turned off" by that direction of movement remain abnormally weak. The combined effects of these tense and weak muscles distorts your ideal posture and compromises your flexibility. By putting the involved ligaments under tension (such as a toe touching posture for the low back) while on the WBV platform even chronic flexibility problems like tight hamstrings can be rapidly improved.

Flexibility Reference: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18824930

Risks and Contraindications

WBV is safe and essentially free of side effects. There are contraindications however, such as if you have a detached retina or some implanted medical devices. For these reasons Dr. Nykwest performs a through history and examination on all WBV users' as well as a consultation with the patients other physicians where necessary.

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