A Randomized Controlled Pilot Study to Investigate the Effect of Whole-Body Vibration on Lower-Extremity Fatigue.

CONTEXT: Whole-body vibration (WBV) is a type of weight-bearing exercise used in the field of sport and rehabilitation. There is no study on the effects of WBV on muscle recovery after a fatiguing activity.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the effects of a single WBV session on lower-extremity fatigue.

DESIGN: Randomized controlled pilot study.

SETTING: University Physiotherapy Clinic.

SUBJECTS: A total of 13 healthy young men volunteered to participate in this study. Subjects were randomly assigned into the WBV group (n = 7, mean age: 21 y) or control group (CG; n = 6, mean age: 20 y).

INTERVENTION: Subjects in the WBV group participated in a single-session WBV (30 Hz, amplitude 4 mm, 2 min) after lower-extremity fatigue.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Peak force of quadriceps muscle, single leg hop test, and Y-test were measured before inducing muscle fatigue (T0), immediately after completing the fatigue protocol (T1), after WBV (T2), and 15 min following the application of WBV (T3). The same method was applied in the CG while the WBV machine was turned off.

RESULTS: Repeated-measure ANOVA revealed no significant differences between groups in any of the outcomes.

CONCLUSIONS: The findings indicated that WBV was not effective in the recovery of lower-extremity fatigue in healthy young men.