Sitting On Vibration Machine Can Keep People As Healthy As Exercise, Study Claims

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A new study has found that sitting, lying down or standing on a vibration machine can be as effective as regular exercise. This activity commonly known as whole body vibration is less strenuous than climbing hills and cycling.

Interestingly, the whole body vibration might be less strenuous, but it provides similar benefits to climbing or cycling, claimed researchers at Augusta University, Georgia. As per Science Daily, the tests on mice were conducted that showed its usefulness to help maintain their bone health and muscle.

It was seen the diabetic and obese mice experienced the same positive effects from both regular exercise and vibrations. "Our study is the first to show that whole-body vibration may be just as effective as exercise at combatting some of the negative consequences of obesity and diabetes," claimed Meghan McGee-Lawrence, the research lead.

Meghan mentioned that the test might have been conducted on mice and it needs to be tested on humans as well to see if it's applicable to people. Interestingly, during the vibration, the muscles contract and relaxes several times per second The Independent reported.

Even though electronic abdomen muscle stimulator and vibration plates are available, there is still debate regarding how effective these are. In the study conducted, the mice were made to run for 45 minutes on a treadmill. They were also made to spend 20 minutes on a whole body vibration machine each day for about three months.

While there was no identifiable difference among the healthy, young mice, both muscle mass and insulin sensitivity increased in genetically obese mice through walking as well as whole body vibration. In fact, the obese mice gained less weight after both these activities compared to a group of mice who didn't do any exercise at all claimed the study.

While body vibration didn't address the defects in bone mass of obese mice completely, it increased global bone formation. This suggested that long-term treatments might prevent bone loss as well. It has been seen that more than a quarter of people across the UK are obese.