Vibrating exercise platform helps reduce falls in the elderly

Australian researchers have found a way of reducing the risks of older people falling.

Experts say that as people age, they are more likely to lose balance and muscle strength, which makes them more likely to fall over and weak leg muscles are a contributing factor in falls in older people.

Researcher Sven Rees, a PhD student at the University of Technology, Sydney says less than ten minutes standing on a vibrating platform several times a week could help reduce older people's risk of falls.

Rees and colleagues were examining interventions to improve physical function in old age and they say previous research has suggested that the vibration of muscles can cause reflex contractions, which in turn strengthens the muscles.

The team were interested in testing this theory so they recruited a group of 23 healthy men and 20 healthy women in their 70s into their study.

The group were randomly assigned to either a vibration group, an exercise without vibration group or a control group.

The vibration and exercise groups undertook static and dynamic bodyweight exercises three times per week for eight weeks and static balance was assessed using a one-legged postural steadiness test.

This test was performed prior to and immediately after the training period and determined how steadily participants were able to stand on one leg.

The vibration group were asked to do light resistance training on a vibrating platform which included standing still with bent knees on a platform, and squatting up and down on their toes.

The exercise group were asked to do the same exercises without the vibrating platform - these exercise sessions lasted for less than 10 minutes and were carried out three times a week for eight weeks.

At the end of the eight weeks the researchers tested the participants' leg strength and found those who had been trained on the vibration platform had a significantly improved ability to stand on one leg.

Rees says the worse someone was at standing on one leg before training, the better their improvement was after training and he suggests the platform could be one tool for older people who cannot access a gym.

Rees has since tested the vibration platform on a group aged in their 90s who found it far more difficult to do the exercises properly because they were not confident. But he believes given time this group of people would also gain confidence and also benefit from such a platform.

Rees says the evidence on vibration training to date is insufficient to determine the effect of the treatment on balance and which particular muscles are strengthened but says future studies will test larger groups of people over a longer term in order to determine how best to optimise the amplitude and frequency of the platform to strengthen leg muscles.

Rees says while some participants found the vibrations unpleasant, others enjoyed it so much that they bought a platform.

But the researchers warn that the vibration equipment used in the study was designed to strengthen muscles without causing other damage and had a particular amplitude and frequency of vibration.

They say vibration can cause negative impacts on the body.

The research is published in the Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport.