Acute effects of whole-body vibration on running gait in marathon runners

J Sports Sci. 2014;32(12):1120-6. doi: 10.1080/02640414.2014.889840. Epub 2014 Feb 28.

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of a single bout of whole-body vibration (WBV) on running gait. The running kinematic of sixteen male marathon runners was assessed on a treadmill at iso-efficiency speed after 10 min of WBV and SHAM (i.e. no WBV) conditions. A high-speed camera (210 Hz) was used for the video analysis and heart rate (HR) was also monitored. The following parameters were investigated: step length (SL), flight time (FT), step frequency (SF), contact time (CT), HR and the internal work (WINT). Full-within one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) of the randomised crossover design indicated that when compared to SHAM conditions, WBV decreased the SL and the FT by ~4% (P < 0.0001) and ~7.2% (P < 0.001), respectively, and increased the SF ~4% (P < 0.0001) while the CT was not changed. This effect occurred during the first minute of running: the SL decreased ~3.5% (P < 0.001) and SF increased ~3.3% (P < 0.001). During the second minute the SL decreased ~1.2% (P = 0.017) and the SF increased ~1.1% (P = 0.02). From the third minute onwards, there was a return to the pre-vibration condition. The WINT was increased by ~4% (P < 0.0001) during the WBV condition. Ten minutes of WBV produced a significant alteration of the running kinematics during the first minutes post exposure. These results provide insights on the effects of WBV on the central components controlling muscle function.

Publication types

  • Randomized Controlled Trial
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Biomechanical Phenomena
  • Cross-Over Studies
  • Gait / physiology*
  • Heart Rate
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Monitoring, Physiologic
  • Muscle, Skeletal / physiology
  • Physical Endurance / physiology*
  • Running / physiology*
  • Vibration*
  • Video Recording