Affiliation:
1. School of Physical Therapy, Faculty of Health Sciences, Elborn College, Western University, 1151 Richmond Street, London, N6A 3K7 Ontario, Canada.
2. Center for Human Motion Science Research, Department of Physiotherapy, School of Rehabilitation Sciences, Abiverdi 1, Chamran Blvd, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, 71947-33669 Shiraz, Iran.
Abstract
Delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) is a condition that happens following eccentric or intensive exercises. Whole-body vibration (WBV) is a potential treatment for DOMS; however, there is a lack of studies assessing its effectiveness in the untrained population. Our study objective was to test the efficacy of WBV compared with no treatment on pain and knee strength in healthy adults with DOMS. We randomly allocated 52 participants, 12 men and 40 women, aged 18 to 28 years, into WBV (n=26) and control (n=26) groups. The eligibility criteria included no history of injury, strengthening or aerobic exercises within the past six months. The participants walked on a treadmill to introduce DOMS. 24 h later, the WBV group received one session of WBV treatment, with their knees bent to 60° for 1 min (frequency, 30 Hz; amplitude 2-5 mm). We assessed pressure pain threshold (PPT), visual analogue scale (VAS), and knee maximum isometric force (MIF) at four time points. We did a one-way repeated measures ANOVA of each outcome measure, followed by a t-test and Bonferroni post-hoc test. The between-group differences were not significant at the baseline and 24 h post-DOMS (P>0.05). Statistical analyses revealed significant differences between the two groups for all variables at 96 h post-DOMS inducement (P<0.05), with mean differences for PPT, MIF and VAS being 1.19 kilo Pascals (95%CI = 0.78-1.32), 42.87 Newtons (95%CI = 28.53-56.98), and -2.39 (95%CI = -3.13- -1.98), respectively. Moreover, differences between the two groups were statistically significant for MIF 168 h post-DOMS (P<0.05). WBV can effectively improve pain and muscle strength; therefore, beneficial treatment for recovery of DOMS symptoms. However, determining the exact dose, frequency, and best time of application is pending future research. Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials registration number: IRCT2016092429958N1
Publisher
Wageningen Academic Publishers
Subject
Physiology (medical),Veterinary (miscellaneous),Orthopedics and Sports Medicine,Physiology,Biochemistry,Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism,Biophysics