Whole-body vibration (WBV) to combat osteoporosis has been popularized lately following promising results in animals. To test the electronic therapy in humans, Canadianresearchers divided 202 healthy women into three groups, two of which received WBV treatment at different wavelengths while the third served as a control. All the women were taking calcium and vitamin D supplements to promote bone health. After 12 months, the womens bone mineral density (BMD) was measured using high-resolution tomography and x-rays. No difference was found in BMD between either whole-body vibration group and the control group, nor did the groups differ in the frequency of clinical fractures during the study. Researchers concluded that WBV is thus not recommended for preventing age-related bone loss in healthy postmenopausal women.
TO LEARN MORE: Annals of Internal Medicine, Nov. 15, 2011; abstract at www.annals.org/content/155/10/668.abstract.