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History of Vibration...

The Whole Body Vibration Platforms are an exciting product that has revolutionized the health and fitness industry. DKN is one of the pioneers of Whole Body Vibration Platforms.

The first applications of vibration for the improvement of human performance were developed in ancient Greece; a saw covered in cotton was used as a tool to transmit mechanical vibrations to the part of the body that was not functioning properly.

Vibration therapy was discovered in 1857 by Swedish doctor Gustav Zander. He built many different exercise machines, some of which provided a type of vibration exercise. After exhibiting at two World Fairs, he started the Zander Institutes, (an early form of today’s health clubs) which proved to be very popular throughout the world. Then Dr. J. Harvey Kellogg, the chief surgeon for the state of Michigan, began utilizing vibration chairs, platforms and bars in his sanitarium in Battle Creek, Michigan as part of his “wellness” strategies for inpatient and outpatient populations. He invented a Vibration machine in 1895 to help people with constipation, headaches, and back pain, and he eventually developed a standing platform.

Russian scientists began studies of WBV in order to help rehabilitate their Cosmonauts after returning from space – repairing muscles from atrophy and bone density due to the weightlessness and lack of resistance in a zero gravity atmosphere. Scientists reasoned that providing safe and calculated vibration therapy that focused on a gravitational force could yield an effective treatment.

In 1995, a Russian Cosmonaut and a medical doctor named Valery Polakov set a world record for being in space for 438 days thanks to vibration technology. Because of the Russian’s advantage of vibration technology, their astronauts were able to stay in space for 420 + days, while American astronauts had to return after 120 days.

Today, WBV machines are produced for the home and professional market and are currently used by hundreds of outlets including chiropractors, physiotherapists, personal trainers, sporting clubs, nursing homes and retirement centers.

Vibration technology has been researched by over 30 universities worldwide to show that WBV platforms are powerful tools for complete body health. Vibration technology is used by the Russian space program and has been adopted by NASA.

How & Why WBV Works...

Controlled Whole Body Vibration is a proven type of fitness training and therapy that has a strong and direct impact on health, wellness and longevity. Many of the benefits of WBV take place at the cellular level. Understanding the Cellular Connection and the 2 Main Body Functions is a good place to start. Read more here...

Mechanical vibrations used at the correct frequency and amplitude cause muscular contractions, better known as involuntary neuro-muscular stretch reflex. Muscles are activated and trained very easily in a short period of time. Twelve exercises of one minute each can be equivalent to an hour work out at the gym. Vibration training with DKN X Series therefore has the effect of strengthening the muscles and increasing endurance, balance, explosiveness and flexibility. Controlled Whole Body Vibration also has a direct impact on hormonal response.

In a conventional training session, only 40% of the muscle fibers are trained; with controlled Whole Body Vibration training, that percentage can reach 90% to 95%. In addition to its effect on muscle tissues, training with controlled Whole Body Vibration also has a positive effect on tendon tissue, bone tissue, the nervous system and hormonal balances.

The Vibration Platform produces a vibration through which energy is transferred from the platform to the body. By standing or sitting on the Platform, you will notice how your body automatically adjusts to the vibrations. This mechanical stimulus produces a stretch reflex, which, depending on the selected frequency, results in muscles vigorously contracting 20 to 50 times per second.

Exercise causes the body to tire; rest allows the body to recover. By repeating this process, the body adjusts to the level of effort, resulting in an increase in physical performance. This phenomenon, called super-compensation, similarly occurs when training on the Platform. However, compared with traditional training methods, greater results are achieved and hormonal productions are increased in much less time.

Each set is performed no longer than 30, 45 or 60 seconds in length, and training sessions on the Platform need to be performed no more than 3 to 4 times per week, with each session lasting about 10 minutes of actual time on the Platform.

The DKN Vibration Platforms offer advantages in the Motion, Simulation and Frequency of the mechanical vibrations that are created by the machine.
These vibrations are defined by three parameters:

The direction of the motion: for the optimum stimulation of muscles and skeleton, a vertical displacement is required (Controlled WBV = gravity accelerator). The DKN X-series generates these vertical vibrations plus horizontal and lateral residual vibrations that create a 3-dimensional vibration.

The length or amplitude of the motion: with the DKN X-series, this movement range is from 1.8 to 3.74mm. Depending on the frequency/acceleration.

The vibration frequency: the number of upward and downward movements of the plate per second. The DKN-series machines offer you a frequency range that can be varied from 20Hz to 50Hz (movements/impacts per second).

Simple science behind the benefits of WBV
WBV increases repair and regeneration hormone levels by stimulating the nervous and skeletal systems which triggers increased production and secretion of endorphins, serotonin, neurotrophin and human growth hormone just to name a few. Studies have shown that a short period of WBV training (10/15 min) brings hormones levels significantly higher than any other traditional gym exercises.

WBV increases circulation and lymph drainage mainly by mechanical means. Arteries and especially veins (related to lymph drainage) are relatively soft structures compared to bone, ligaments and tendons. These soft tissues, including muscle, skin,, arteries and veins can be compressed and uncompressed which changes the pressures of the fluid in the veins and arteries.

The vibration of the platform compress and uncompress the soft tissues causing a pumping effect within the arteries and veins. Since veins and arteries are tube-like structures with fluid (blood) in them, when they are compressed the blood must move somewhere - either to the working/damaged muscle with oxygenated blood or to the heart with used blood (non-oxygenated, toxins, cellular bi-products). WBV “unclogs” the circulatory system and makes the capillary beds more efficient. This increases energy levels and decreases body toxins. This is why after a whole body vibration session in the morning, you are full of stamina for the rest of the day!

WBV increases bone density and strengthens because our body naturally adapts to the forces that it is exposed to. The vertical vibration is absorbed in the skeletal system which strengthens trabecular lines (force lines aid in the strength of bony tissue, these decrease with age and lack of activity). A decreased bone density is one of the leading causes of hip and pelvic fractures and WBV can increase the bone density and strength of the skeletal system.

Whole Body Vibration increases muscular recruitment, especially the smaller muscle groups. This also leads to increased proprioception (body awareness and balance). The vibration stimulates the golgi tendon organs (receptors that respond to muscle and tendon length) because the platform is constantly accelerating and decelerating so the muscular system is constantly adjusting to maintain its balance. This is why some exercises like bending and touching your toes are challenging, not only because of hamstring flexibility, but also because the surface is changing so the smaller muscle groups (small planter muscles, pereonals, tibialis posterior and anterior, and many others) are firing to keep your balance. The studies show that there are significant gains in explosive strength due to the increased input from the smaller muscle groups for activities such as jumping.

WBV increases flexibility because the vibrating platform causes chaos within the stretch reflex in your muscular system. On a stable platform when you are stretching your hamstring you can forward flex until you feel a pull in your hamstrings. This pull triggers receptors in your muscles that send information to the brain and to other muscle groups that will limit that movement, in this case gluts and lower erector spinae muscles. This stretch reflex protects the hamstrings from stretching too fast or too far. On a vibrating platform this reflex is overridden, allowing your body to go past the stretch reflex. Therefore, increasing the range of motion and flexibility of that joint. Even after 30 sec. of stretching, noticeable results are present!

WBV decreases body fat mainly due to the increased efficiency of the circulatory system as explained already. There is an increase of circulation in the skin and adipose (fatty) tissues and this promotes the utilization of fat for energy and is readily metabolized. The results are really amazing!

Whole Body Vibration can help treat osteoporosis
Osteoporosis is a bone disorder that is typically associated with women after they have gone through menopause. In osteoporosis the mineral density (BMD) is reduced and the amount and types of proteins in bone are altered. The common conceptual understanding is that the bones become “brittle” and there is an increased risk of fractures.

Osteoporosis is most common in women after the menopause, when it is called “postmenopausal osteoporosis”, but may also develop in elderly men, or it may occur in anyone in the presence of certain hormonal disorders, some chronic diseases or even as a result of some medications. Because osteoporosis contributes to the risk of fracture, it may significantly affect life expectancy and even affect the quality of life.

Currently the standard treatment of choice is a combination of medication in conjunction with weight-bearing exercise. The reasoning behind this thinking is that increasing the workload onto the bone stimulates bone growth. The more the bone gets stimulated, the more mineral will lay down into the bone mass. The difficulty in this approach is that many patients are not exercise savvy, nor do they have the time to engage every day into an exercise program long enough to produce the changes necessary.

Recently much research has pointed to Whole Body Vibration (WBV) as being the number one non-pharmaceutical treatment of choice for osteoporosis! Over the last forty years numerous research studies have been published that indicate the positive effect of this therapy on bone growth and re-mineralization of bone. Vibrating simply means that a platform is moving rapidly up and down. Thus simply standing on a vibrating platform with straight legs loads the bones with the patients full body weight with every upward movement of the platform! If the platform vibrates somewhere around 20-50Hz, that means it moves up and down 20-50 times per second, loading the bones with the patients full body weight with every stroke! You can see that it would be very hard to duplicate this by lifting weights. Read More Benefits Here...