Effects of a short-term whole body vibration intervention on physical fitness in elderly people

We aimed to clarify whether a short-term whole body vibration (WBV) training has a beneficial effect on physical fitness in elderly people. Forty-nine non-institutionalized elderly (75.0 +/- 4.7 years) participated in the study. Twenty-four of them trained on a vibration platform for 11 weeks. Physical fitness included balance, lower- and upper-body strength and flexibility, agility, walking speed and endurance. In the WBV group most of the physical tests improved through the intervention (all P<0.01) while in the control group only an increment was detected in lower-body strength (P<0.05). In conclusion, a short-term WBV training is beneficial for physical fitness among elderly people. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.