Effects of whole body vibration on prevention and attenuation of delayed-onset muscle soreness following eccentric exercises

Introduction: Delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS), which occurs after eccentric exercises, maycause some reduction in ability in sport activities. For this reason, numerous recovery strategies have beenused in an attempt to control the inflammatory-type response. Physical modalities have demonstrated noeffect on the alleviation of muscle soreness or other DOMS symptoms. Whole-body vibration (WBV) hasbeen suggested as a viable warm-up in sport fields. However, there is a lack of scientific evidence tosupport the protective effects of WBV-Training (WBVT) on muscle damage.Material and Methods: Thirty-two healthy untrained volunteers randomly assigned into two groups:WBVT (n=15) and control (n=17). Subjects performed 6 sets of 10 maximal isokinetic (60°.s-1) eccentriccontractions of knee extensors with dominant limb on a dynamometer. In the WBVT group before eccentricexercise, whole body vibration was applied using a vibratory platform (Power Plate, 35 Hz, 5 mm peak-topeakamplitude), with 100° knee flexion for 60 seconds while no vibration was applied in the control group.DOMS criteria (serum creatine kinase (CK), pressure pain threshold (PPT), muscle soreness, thighcircumference and maximal voluntary isometric exertion) were recorded at baseline, immediately after, 1to14 days postexercise.Results: WBVT group showed significant reduction of DOMS symptoms in terms of lower CK levels,less PPT, less muscle soreness and lower maximal isometric voluntary strength loss compared to the controlgroup (P< 0.05) However, no significant effect on thigh circumference was evident (P> 0.05).Conclusions: The findings of this study showed that WBVT administered before eccentric exercise maycontrol and prevent DOMS and enhance the quadriceps muscle activity. Further investigation should beundertaken to ascertain the effectiveness of WBVT in athletes