Vibration Plates and Their Benefits

If you want to shake up your exercise routine, vibration plates could amp up the intensity. This small piece of equipment packs a punch by using rapid vibrations to challenge your muscles during exercise.

But is this new tech as good as it sounds? Let’s get into it with sports medicine specialist Lauren Wichman, MD.

What are vibration plates?

A vibration plate is a small platform, almost like a stationary skateboard, that shakes rapidly. It causes your muscles to contract and relax several times a second, almost like a massage gun but for your entire body. You can sit, stand or lean on it in various ways to do different exercises, such as squats, planks and more.

“Vibration plates can make exercises more challenging by creating an uneven, oscillating surface,” says Dr. Wichman. “It forces you to maintain your balance and makes muscles contract that you wouldn’t necessarily use otherwise.”

Potential vibration plate benefits

There isn’t a ton of research on vibration plates, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) hasn’t approved them for treating injuries or other conditions. But advocates claim that high-frequency, rapid vibrations can:

• Improve flexibility and balance: As you’re on an unstable surface, your body has to work harder to maintain balance. It does that by activating and contracting a variety of muscles. If those muscles feel stiff, the vibration could help loosen them up. But if you overdo it, your muscles might cramp up or become sore.
• Build strength and tone: Muscle contraction can lead to muscle growth, but Dr. Wichman says it’s unclear if vibration plates have any lasting effect when compared to traditional strength training.
• Increase blood flow: Vibrations can get your blood flowing, particularly in your legs and feet. But more research is needed to determine whether the vibrations have any lasting long-term effects on blood circulation.
• Support bone health: “Early research suggests vibration plates may help improve bone mineral density, but there seems to be no real difference when compared to regular exercise,” notes Dr. Wichman.
• Assist with weight loss: Vibration plates may help burn calories, but it’s not enough to keep the weight off without a healthy diet and regular exercise.

So, while research suggests vibration plates could be a good complement to your exercise routine, the jury is still out on just how good the vibes really are.

“We don’t have any evidence on what settings to use or how long to use this equipment in order to receive these benefits,” adds Dr. Wichman. “To truly make the claim it can have all these positive impacts, we have to do more studies.”

Vibration plate exercises

If the idea of using a vibration plate still resonates with you and you’re generally healthy, it may be a safe activity to bolster your fitness. Just make sure to start at the lowest frequency and amplitude to get used to how it feels before going full throttle.

“I wouldn’t recommend doing exercises that have you jumping on and off while it’s vibrating because that could increase your risk of falling,” cautions Dr. Wichman. “But there are stationary, bodyweight exercises I would recommend trying.”

Those include:

• Holding a squat or doing repetitive squats
• Lunges, with your back leg on solid ground
• Upper body lifts, like bicep curls or shoulder press
• Push-ups
• Planks

“Floor exercises, in particular, are much more challenging with vibration plates,” she says. “For planks and push-ups, you can use your hands or feet to support your body on the plate.”

Who shouldn’t use vibration plates?

As vibration plates create an unstable surface, you may want to avoid them if you’re:

• Pregnant
• Have trouble maintaining balance
• Have an ankle or leg injury
• Have pain in your joints, neck or back
• Have certain cardiovascular conditions, like heart disease

“There are a few different vibration plates that have handles or let you change the frequency, amplitude and duration, but that vibration is transmitting up your entire body,” explains Dr. Wichman. “If you have neck or back pain, or you have trouble balancing, high-frequency vibrations could lead to dizziness, nausea or vertigo.”

Otherwise, if you’re interested in good vibrations, give it a try. While vibration plates aren’t a replacement for traditional cardiovascular exercises and strength training, they could be a fun addition to your normal routine.