Vibration Plates: The Social Media Fitness Trend Experts Question
Social media platforms are currently buzzing with a new fitness obsession: vibration plates. These scale-sized platforms vibrate at various frequencies and promise to enhance fitness levels and improve body composition. Numerous lifestyle and fitness influencers have enthusiastically embraced this trend, promoting these devices across their channels.
Brands and influencers make several bold claims about vibration plates, suggesting they can promote lymphatic drainage, assist with weight loss, improve muscle tone and strength, and reduce bloating. However, medical professionals have significant reservations about these assertions.
The Spectrum of Social Media Health Information
Matthew Welch, an exercise physiologist at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York, references astronomer Carl Sagan's famous saying: "extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." Welch emphasizes that this principle is particularly relevant when evaluating social media fitness fads.
"We do have a lot of really knowledgeable people and some great information that's out there, but this information exists on a spectrum," Welch explains. "So, we get really qualified people putting out high-quality information and really good tidbits, but then we also get people that are really just looking for clicks, engagement and basically just trying to gain traction on their pages."
Welch notes that there is often no research to support the claims made by this latter group, which unfortunately appears to be the case with many vibration plate promotions. This situation creates confusion for average social media users seeking simple ways to improve their health and fitness, especially considering these devices can cost anywhere from $200 to over $1,000.
What You Need to Know About Vibration Plates
Simply standing on a vibration plate isn't going to do much of anything for your health. According to Welch, most vibration plate studies have been conducted when the plates were used as an exercise accompaniment, such as when someone performs push-ups or squats on the vibrating platform.
Many social media users have posted videos of themselves just standing or sitting on the platform to obtain benefits, but Welch strongly cautions against this approach. "Standing on it isn't just going to improve your body composition," Welch states. "You're not going to lose fat just by standing on it. You need to be doing other things," whether that involves using it during crunches, resistance band training, squats, or some other form of movement.
If you believe that merely standing on a platform for 10 to 15 minutes daily will improve your body composition, "that's just not true," Welch asserts.
Dr. Charles Chatman, a family medicine and sports medicine physician at the University of California at Davis, adds that standing on a vibration plate as it moves can burn some calories, but not many, and certainly fewer than you would burn during a walk or run. "It's not something you want to just do by itself," Chatman emphasizes.
Potential Benefits for Specific Populations
They can help improve balance in older folks who are prone to falls. One potential benefit? When standing on a vibration plate, your muscles do activate and contract to prevent you from falling over, Chatman explains.
"So, you are going to have an increase in your strength in those muscles, especially the lower extremity and also the core. And then what that allows you to do is have an increase in balance," Chatman notes.
For older adults experiencing balance issues, a vibration platform could potentially offer benefits. "Sedentary and elderly folks, they're going to get pretty good results from doing this because it's such a novel stimulus to them," Welch adds.
It will challenge their balance and engage their muscles in a different manner than they're accustomed to. "I think you can check off a lot of boxes in terms of balance, stability, coordination, and also just giving your muscles and joints a different type of exercise," Welch says, provided it's done in conjunction with other movement.
Effectiveness Compared to Traditional Exercise
Exercising on a vibration plate is fine, but research doesn't show it's any more effective than exercising without one. For individuals with regular exercise regimens who choose to perform certain workouts on a vibration plate, the benefits remain unclear.
Working out is beneficial whether you do it on a vibration plate or off one, Welch states. Exercising on the plate doesn't appear to offer superior results. For instance, while your strength may improve if you exercise on a vibration plate, it likely won't improve any more than it would through traditional strength training without the vibrating platform.
"So, you can get strong doing it, but it may not be because of the reasons that you initially thought. The vibration isn't necessarily adding an extra benefit," Welch explains.
"But, with that being said ... if someone enjoys doing it, if they don't have pain when they're doing the exercises and if it's something that's going to keep them consistent, then I have no problem with it," he adds. Vibration plates can serve as a supplement to a well-rounded strength training program, according to Welch, but they shouldn't be considered a replacement.
Examining Specific Health Claims
Any claims of lymphatic drainage have not yet been proven. One major assertion about vibration plates is that they can be used for lymphatic drainage, which refers to the lymphatic system's natural process of moving and draining excess fluid.
However, the concept of "lymphatic drainage" has become a wellness buzzword that people frequently associate with weight loss and bloating, which doesn't accurately reflect the term's actual meaning.
"Does everyone need to have their lymphatic system 'drained?' No," says Chatman. Some individuals may have health issues involving lymphatic system blockage, such as lymphedema, which causes swelling in the legs. People with lymphedema and other lymphatic system issues require specific therapies to address their condition, Chatman explains. "But I would say for an average individual, that's not necessary."
"As long as you have a liver, you're getting lymphatic drainage," Welch remarks. Exercise already promotes lymphatic drainage, Welch notes, as do activities like calf raises after prolonged sitting or walking around on an airplane. Your body naturally drains excess fluid when you move around, so using a vibrating plate to further promote this drainage may not be particularly beneficial, according to Chatman.
"I couldn't find any evidence that whole body vibration improved lymphatic drainage, and I also couldn't find any studies that examined that in the research," Welch reports.
Vibration plates probably don't help with bloating, either. One major promise from influencers using these machines is that they help reduce bloating. Chatman states that he doesn't "see the correlation with how that helped with bloating."
Welch adds that while someone might notice reduced bloating after using a vibration plate, other factors could be responsible for those improvements, such as dietary changes, reduced alcohol consumption, or increased exercise.
Expert Recommendations for Fitness Equipment
There is better fitness equipment to spend your money on, experts say. "The main thing that I want to get across is that it would be an adjunct, but it shouldn't be your primary source of fitness," Chatman emphasizes regarding vibration plates.
Research indicates that numerous other activities, such as walking, jogging, or participating in resistance training, offer greater benefits than using a vibrating platform, Chatman explains. If you already own substantial fitness equipment that you use properly and regularly, and you want a vibration plate to help achieve some proven goals like better balance, that's acceptable, according to Welch.
However, if you're hoping to accomplish objectives that haven't been scientifically validated, or if you want the most effective way to reach fitness or health goals, you might want to reconsider before investing in a vibration platform. "I could think of a lot of other pieces of equipment to select for a lot of goals before I would select that," Welch states.
If you're considering purchasing a vibration plate, Chatman advises consulting with your doctor first to ensure the machine is appropriate for you. "See if this is something that will benefit you, or if it's something that is not going to be beneficial depending on your medical condition," he recommends.
Ultimately, a vibration plate probably won't dramatically transform your health or fitness, but if it helps you maintain a workout routine or motivates you to make healthier choices, there's nothing inherently wrong with using one.
