Effects of 12 weeks of whole body vibration vs. multi-component training in postmenopausal women

Abstract

The aims of this study were to analyze the effects of two different training protocols (vibratory platform and multi-component training) and to determine what kind of training creates greater adaptations on bone density, and isokinetic strength of the knee extensors and the stabilizer muscles of the ankle joint in postmenopausal women. Thirty-eight women (59.8 ± 6.2 years) were randomly assigned to whole body vibration group (WBVG), multi-component training group (MTG), or a control group (CG). The experimental groups performed an incremental training for 12 weeks, 3 sessions/week. Significant differences were found in total fat mass and total lean mass in the training groups. In addition, both WBVG and MTG showed significant increases in isokinetic strength for knee extensors at 60º·s-1 and at 270º·s-1 . With respect to ankle joint, a significant increase for eversion at 60º·s-1 and inversion at 60º·s-1 was found in both the training groups, and eversion at 120º·s-1 only in WBVG (p = 0.012). There were no significant differences between WBVG and MTG in knee and ankle strength tests. Therefore, we have found significant adaptations to whole body vibration and multi-component training in the present study. However, the improvements were similar for both groups and we cannot claim that WBVG is better than MTG, or viceversa