Whole Body Vibration Increases Bone Mineral Density In Middle Age and Seniors

Aging Clin Exp Res. 2011 Feb 21. Department of Orthopedic and Spinal Surgery, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, China.

Background and Aims: Whole-body vibration (WBV) presents osteogenic in animals models and young patients, but such effect remains unclear in senior people. The use of alternative tilting during WBV to ameliorate bone mass and bone metabolism, particularly in senior people, has not been previously reported. This study aimed to assess the changes of bone mineral density (BMD) and bone metabolism in senior people following a six-month treatment of whole-body vibration with alternative tilting (WBVAT). Methods: 53 senior people (11M/42F, >65 years, mean age 77) and 15 adults (4M/11F, 50-60 years, mean age 53) were enrolled and assigned randomly into WBVAT groups (senior: n=27; adult: n=7) and control groups (senior: n=26; adult: n=7), respectively. The WBVAT groups were subjected to vertical vibration (0.5-0.8 g, 45-55 Hz) and alternative tilting (2° tilting angle or 8 mm displacement at 0.4 Hz) 20 minutes per day and 3 days per week for 6 months. BMD in the lumbar spine and femoral neck was measured at 0, 3 and 6 months, respectively, as well as biochemical markers of bone metabolism, including serum calcium, phosphorus, alkaline phosphatase (ALP), osteocalcin and tartrate-resistance acid phosphatase at 0, 1, 3 and 6 months, respectively. Results: After 6-month WBVAT treatment, BMD in the lumbar spine and femoral neck increased significantly by 2.52% and 3.22% for the senior people, and 1.63% and 2.05% for the adult people, respectively. The 6-month WBVAT treatment increased BMD in the senior people with and without osteoporosis (OP), and both men and women, but led to a BMD gain greater in people with OP (p<0.01) and women (p<0.01), respectively. The serum ALP level increased significantly by a net 24.4% for the senior after WBVAT treatment at 3 months, while other biochemical markers showed non-significant difference between the WBVAT and control groups. Conclusions: The present study suggested that WBVAT treatment could increase BMD in senior people, particularly in people with OP and women. Changes of bone metabolism following the WBVAT treatment were not observed in most cases.

PMID: 21339698 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]