Vibration plates: Are there health benefits?

Vibration plates show possible bone, muscle benefits in studies

You may have seen clips of influencers raising their voice to list vibration therapy benefits over the hum of their devices. Among the claims? Weight loss, pain relief, lymphatic drainage and muscle relaxation — just to name a few.

While vibration plates are marketed as having a wide range of health benefits, most research has explored their potential bone health benefits, says Gabriel Lopez, M.D., medical director of MD Anderson’s Integrative Medicine Center.

One person with firsthand knowledge of this research? Gabriel Pagnotti, Ph.D., who began his career as an electrical engineer and continued on as a biomedical engineer exploring how mechanical signals delivered through vibration plates could impact bone and muscle health for people with cancer-related bone loss.

He explains that your skeleton remodels constantly as it adapts to mechanical input from regular physical activity and exercise, such as walking, swimming, biking and weightlifting. These activities send complex mechanical signals to the bone and throughout the body to support your musculoskeletal health. You might compare this process to how electricity is sent through a power grid.

“Mechanical signals or cues are absolutely critical to maintaining your bone and muscle health,” he says.

But without activity, that signal can screech to a halt.

For people who are inactive or can’t be active due to medical conditions like cancer treatments or long-term bed rest, this absence of signal means the bone remodeling process is thrown off balance. Likewise, your body’s capacity to adapt to mechanical signals decreases as you age. As a result, your musculoskeletal health can suffer dramatically.

This puts you at risk for:

• Reduced bone density
• Increased muscle weakness
• Osteoporosis
• Bone fractures

That’s where low-intensity vibration comes in. In practice, low-intensity vibration produces small, high-frequency mechanical signals. These signals reproduce some of the dynamics of muscle contraction — including postural stability muscles — that are engaged during standing and mild to moderate exercise. This can stimulate bone and muscle growth or help you keep what you have, Pagnotti explains.

For example, Pagnotti’s laboratory research found that using a low-intensity vibration plate once a day for 10 to 20 minutes five days a week provided significant benefit to bone health in models of certain cancers, such as ovarian cancer and multiple myeloma. The research showed even greater improvements in bone strength when anti-bone loss agents were used along with two sessions of low-intensity vibration per day, with several hours of rest between sessions. This research was done in a model of breast cancer bone metastasis treatment, work Pagnotti recently published in Nature Communications alongside MD Anderson’s Theresa Guise, M.D.

Clinically, low-intensity vibration may also help promote bone preservation in other groups, including young women with low bone density and in young people in cancer remission, Pagnotti adds.

Health disparities researcher Scherezade Mama, Dr.Ph., notes that data from past studies on vibration plates has shown mixed findings, and it isn’t clear if these devices provide benefits.

However, these ‘mixed findings’ don’t mean vibration plates caused harm, but rather that the outcomes didn’t change. This could be due to factors such as a study’s sample size or the imaging resolution, Pagnotti says, adding that he and his colleagues are accounting for imaging resolution in forthcoming studies.

While low-intensity vibration hasn't always led to substantial growth or observable protection in all study scenarios, it also hasn’t caused any downsides. And, unlike other therapies, low intensity vibration is a “non-invasive, non-drug means to preserve bone and muscle,” he says.

Today, studies are taking advantage of better imaging technologies to study the impact of vibration plates. For example, newer studies that use high-resolution CT imaging have shown low-intensity vibration treatment has significant benefits, he notes.

Not all vibration plates offer the same benefits

If vibration plates show promise in promoting bone and muscle health for some people, you might be wondering whether you should add one to your routine — especially if you are dealing with cancer treatment side effects like bone loss.

Currently, vibration plates aren't an outpatient rehabilitation option used by MD Anderson’s Rehabilitation Services team due to a lack of evidence, says Lorna Griffin, the associate director of the program.

But what about for home use? It may seem like adding a new fitness device to your routine could be helpful — or at least harmless. But that isn’t always the case. Alicia Phillips, an MD Anderson wellness coordinator, recommends talking to your health care team for personalized advice before using a new fitness device.

“Everyone’s health history is different, and devices that are safe for some people may not be safe for others. Your oncology team, physical therapist or cancer rehabilitation specialist can help you determine whether it’s safe for you to try a new device based on your diagnosis, treatment and recovery stage,” she says.

Note that there are many different types of vibration plates on the market. The vibration plates used in studies may be very different than the ones you see advertised on social media.

For example, the vibration plates Pagnotti and his research team use are low-impact, often with a frequency between 20 and 100 hertz. These research-backed devices send signals shown to benefit bone and muscle health. The product used in laboratory settings can cost up to several thousand dollars.

“Not all these vibration plates are made the same,” Pagnotti says. “Not every product that is commercially available will fall into the same signal parameters.”

He adds that using a vibration plate with too high an intensity can fall outside of what experts recommend for health benefits.

When using any new fitness device, Phillips recommends starting slowly, listening to your body and stopping if you feel pain, dizziness or unusual fatigue.

Support your body with physical activity when possible

Vibration plates may be helpful for some people, but they should not replace other forms of exercise, such as aerobic and resistance exercises, Mama says.

MD Anderson recommends getting at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise each week. If you can't tell what category your exercise falls into, try the talk test. During moderate exercise, you should still be able to hold a conversation, but you shouldn’t be able to sing. During vigorous aerobic exercise, you may only be able to say a few words without feeling out of breath.

The bottom line? While vibration plates can support bone and muscle health for some, they are just one of many ways healthy individuals can pick up those good vibrations.

Request an appointment at MD Anderson online or call 1-877-632-6789.