Vibration and pain management
Vibration therapy[edit | edit source]
Vibration therapy uses vibration as a physical tool during treatment. Vibration is to the propagation of elastic waves producing deformations and tensions on a continuous medium. The vibratory movement is very short and fast and repeated around an equilibrium position.
Acute responses[edit | edit source]
In vibration therapy muscle contraction is caused by stimulating muscle spindles and alpha-motoneurons (M Ayangco, C Bosco. The use of vibration as an exercise intervention. Exercise and sport sciences reviews. 2003;31(1):3–7). increases Electromyographic activity. Oxygen consumption is directly proportional to vibration, muscle temperature and skin blood flow. (DJ Cochrane, SR Stannard, AJ Sargeant, J Rittweger. The rate of muscle temperature increase during acute whole-body vibration exercise. European journal of Applied Physiology. 2008;103(4):441–8. ) Vibration therapy also have endocrine effects. In elderly males and females, an acute increase in the circulating levels of insulin- like growth factor I and cortisol was observed (J Rittweger, G Beller, D Felsenberg. Acute physiological effects of exhaustive wholebody vibration exercise in man. Clin Physiol. 2000;20:134–42.)
physiological basis [edit | edit source]
According to the closed-door theory of Melzack & Wall, low-intensity mechanical stimuli, not aggressive enough to stimulate nociceptors, activate the Inhibiting Interneurons. Inhibitory neurons intervene in several processes of regulation of the neurological signal. Without their braking activity, we would have too many nociceptive stimuli / pain experiences. (Butler, Moseley)
According to that, applied mechanical vibration can have a summative effect with other pain control strategies, in reducing behavioral and physiological pain responses. (McGinnis, Murray 2016)
scientific support[edit | edit source]
There is very little scientific research that studies the effect of vibration on pain management. Most published articles are about whole body vibration. Some studies evaluate the effectiveness of vibration as a treatment for spasticity with good results. (Casale, Damiani , 2014) Other article concluded that local vibration can be a safe and efectiv alternativ for chronic post stroke patients. (Constantino, Galuppo 2016)
McGinnis och Murray (2016) studied the safety and efficacy of mechanical vibration for relief of heel lance pain among neonates, and found that it was an effective and safe method for pain management.
Several articles investigate the effects of therapeutic vibration on the Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS). One of them concludes that both the vibration applied locally and the whole body vibration , reduces pain.Furthermore, vibration therapy improved muscular strength, power development, kinesthetic awareness,range of motion, and increased blood flow under the skin. (Vegar, Imtiyaz, 2014).
