Objective: The purpose of the present systematic review and meta-analysis was to evaluate published, randomized controlled trials that investigated the effects of whole-body vibration training (WBVT) on lean mass in postmenopausal women.
Methods: The following electronic databases were searched from September to October 2015: PubMed, Web of Science, and Cochrane. Two different authors tabulated, independently, the selected indices in identical predetermined forms. The methodological quality of all randomized trial studies was evaluated according to the modified PEDro scale. In each trial, the effect size of the intervention was calculated by the difference between pre- and postintervention lean mass in WBVT postmenopausal women. For controlled trials, the effect size of the WBVT was also calculated by the difference in lean mass after the WBVT and in control participants.
Results: Of the 189 articles found from the database search and all duplicates removed, 5 articles were analyzed. The lean mass of 112 postmenopausal women who performed either WBVT or a control protocol was evaluated. The methodological quality of the trials was high, where the mean score was 8 out of a possible 10 points. No significant improvements in lean mass with WBVT were found in postmenopausal women. In addition, there was no significant difference in lean mass between WBVT and control postmenopausal women.
Conclusions: This meta-analysis demonstrated that WBVT alone may not be a sufficient stimulus to increase lean mass in postmenopausal women. Thus, additional complimentary training methods with WBVT are needed to increase muscle size in women with lower hormonal responses.