Effect of a combination of whole body vibration exercise and squat training on body balance, muscle power, and walking ability in the elderly

Abstract

A randomized controlled trial was conducted to clarify the beneficial effect of whole body vibration (WBV) exercise plus squat training on body balance, muscle power, and walking ability in the elderly with knee osteoarthritis and/or spondylosis. Of 35 ambulatory patients (14 men and 21 women) who were recruited at our outpatient clinic, 28 (80.0%, 12 men and 16 women) participated in the trial. The subjects (mean age 72.4 years) were randomly divided into two groups (n=14 in each group), ie, a WBV exercise alone group and a WBV exercise plus squat training group. A 4-minute WBV exercise (frequency 20 Hz) was performed 2 days per week in both groups; squat training (20 times per minute) was added during the 4-minute WBV training session in the WBV exercise plus squat training group. The duration of the trial was 6 months. The exercise and training program was safe and well tolerated. WBV exercise alone improved indices of body balance and walking velocity from baseline values. However, WBV exercise plus squat training was more effective for improving tandem gait step number and chair-rising time compared with WBV exercise alone. These results suggest the benefit and safety of WBV exercise plus squat training for improving physical function in terms of body balance and muscle power in the elderly.

Keywords: body balance; muscle power; squat training; walking velocity; whole body vibration exercise.

Figure 1

WBV exercise and squat training. WBV exercise was performed using a Galileo machine (G-900; Novotec, Pforzheim, Germany). The subject stands with knees bent (by 45 degrees) and hips bent (by 45 degrees), with feet 20 cm apart on a rocking platform with a sagittal axle that alternately thrusts the right and left legs upwards and downwards, thereby activating the muscles of the lower extremities. Each WBV exercise session was set at a frequency of 20 Hz and for a duration of 4 minutes. In the control group, only WBV exercise was performed. In the squat training group, squat training was added on the rocking platform of the Galileo machine during the 4-minute WBV exercise session. Abbreviation: WBV, whole body vibration.

Figure 2

Changes in static body balance and walking ability parameters. The data are expressed as the mean ± standard error. A one-way analysis of variance with repeated measurements showed that all parameters improved significantly from baseline values in both groups. However, a two-way analysis of variance with repeated measurements showed that improvement of one-leg standing time, but not tandem standing time, 10 m walking time, and 10 m walking step number, was significantly greater in the squat training group than in the control group.

Figure 3

Changes in dynamic body balance and muscle power parameters. The data are expressed as the mean ± standard error. A one-way analysis of variance with repeated measurements showed that all parameters improved significantly from baseline values in the squat training group, whereas 10 m tandem gait time and TUG improved significantly from baseline values in the control group. Tandem gait step number and 5-repetition chair-rising time improved significantly from baseline values in the squat training group compared with the control group. Abbreviation: TUG, Timed Up and Go.