Vibration plates, also called vibrating plates or vibration plate machines, are a type of fitness device. They use whole-body vibration to stimulate muscles. They may also help improve your strength, flexibility, and circulation, and boost your bone mass.
What Are Vibration Plates?
A vibration plate is a platform that vibrates when you stand on it. This forces your muscles to constantly contract and relax. You can find them at some gyms or buy one to use at home.
Some people claim that vibration plates can help you:
- Lose weight
- Burn fat
- Become more flexible
- Boost blood flow
- Decrease post-exercise muscle soreness
- Increase strength
- Lower levels of stress hormones like cortisol
There are some studies that suggest vibration plates can help you build muscle and lose weight, especially if you also lower the amount of calories you eat. But there’s not enough research to say for sure.
How Do Vibration Plates Work?
You can sit, stand, or work out on a vibrating plate. These vibrations usually happen 20-60 times each second. These cause your muscles to contract and relax over and over. The amount of energy your body burns depends on the frequency and intensity of the vibrations.
Vibration Plate Benefits
These devices may benefit your health and fitness in different ways.
Vibration plates for weight loss
There’s promising research that vibration plates can help you lose weight. A 2019 review published in the Journal of Musculoskeletal and Neuronal Interactions looked at seven trials with 280 people. Vibrating plates appeared to lead to a large amount of fat loss. The data was less clear about decreases in body fat percentages. One study, for example, found that while people didn’t seem to lose much body fat, their fat-free, or muscle mass, increased by 2.2% after 24 weeks of training. Another study found that vibration plates were better at lowering visceral fat than a traditional aerobic and resistance training program. Visceral fat is the fat that’s deep within your belly. It’s believed to raise your risk of heart disease.
The aerobic and calorie-burning benefits from vibration plates are similar to what you get from moderate-intensity walking. How long – and how often – you use the device may play a role in the results you see. Studies looked at vibration plate training that lasted anywhere from 6 weeks to 6 months, two or three times a week. But longer, more carefully designed studies are necessary to understand exactly how vibration plates benefit your fitness.
Vibration plates for osteoporosis
Some people believe that vibration plates are another way to treat osteoporosis without using medication. Researchers began studying this theory about a quarter-century ago. They used 20-minute bursts of high-frequency vibrations on the back legs of adult sheep every day for a year. Experts found that the bone density in the sheep’s thighbones increased by about a third, compared to sheep that didn’t get this treatment.
But studies in humans have been less promising. Data has shown very little to no improvement in bone mineral density with vibration plates, compared to placebo vibration, walking, or no treatment at all.
One study did show that vibration plates reduced the risk of falls. A German study looked at about 150 postmenopausal women. Experts found that an exercise program – 20 minutes of dancing, 5 minutes of balance training, 20 minutes of functional gymnastics, and 15 minutes of leg strengthening exercises on vibration plates – lowered the risk of falls, compared to women who did the exercise program without vibration, or a control group that did no exercise at all.
While fall prevention is important for all older adults, it’s especially important for older adults with osteoporosis. This is because falling could lead to a life-threatening fracture, such as a hip fracture.
Other Vibration Plate Benefits
There are a few other health benefits linked to vibrating plates. But more research is needed to confirm them. Here’s what studies show so far:
Reduced blood pressure. A small study of 38 young, overweight women/women with obesity found that 6 weeks of vibration training reduced artery stiffness and improved blood pressure. Other research has looked at postmenopausal, overweight women/women with obesity and found that doing four leg exercises three times a week on a vibration plate for 8 weeks, along with a supplement of the amino acid L-citrulline, helped to lower blood pressure.
Improved lower back pain. A 2023 review of 14 studies published in the Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery and Research found that vibration plate training can improve pain and function among people with chronic lower back pain. The review authors think there are three ways that vibration is helpful:
- It activates muscle fibers and improves muscle strength in your trunk.
- It relaxes your lower back muscles, which relieves pain.
- It activates your proprioceptors, which are neurons within your muscles and tendons that help align your body in space. This will help to improve any back instability.
Better cognitive function. A 2023 review of eight studies published in the journal AIMS Neuroscience found that vibration plate training improves cognitive (thinking) skills both in healthy people and those who already have cognitive problems such as dementia or ADHD.
The review suggests that how you stand during vibration training matters. If you squat at a 110-degree knee angle, for example, there’s very little transmission of vibrations to your head, compared to other high or low squat positions. This may help to explain why some studies found less of a brain-boosting effect than others. But if you stand on a vibrating platform with one foot to the front, one to the back, more vibrations go to your head. While research shows the most vibrations are transmitted to your head while you sit, it’s not clear whether that’ll help or hurt your cognition.
Vibration Plate Exercises
You can do a number of exercises on a vibrating plate. Some good vibration plate exercises to start with include:
Pushups. Place your hands on the vibration plate with your wrists slightly outside your body width but aligned with your elbows and shoulders. Flex your elbows and lower your body to the vibration plate. Keep your core engaged and your hips down. Now push back to your start position.
Step-ups. Face the vibration plate and put your right foot on it. Press down through your right heel and step up onto the plate. Then reverse the movement so that you return to your start position. Complete the rest of your right leg, then switch legs.
Plank. Place your forearms on the vibration plate, your shoulders aligned with your elbows. Your entire body, including your head and neck, should extend in a straight line at an angle from your scalp to your feet. Engage your core muscles, with your hips down. Hold the plank for your set length of time.
Body weight squats. Stand with both feet on the vibration plate. Your feet should be hip-width, and your toes slightly pointed outward. Now push your hips back and slowly lower yourself to a squat position. Once you’ve reached it, push through your heels to return to your start one.
Reverse lunge. Stand with your right foot on the vibration plate, then take a step back and down with your left foot. Make sure your right hip, knee, and ankle are all in alignment. Now press through your right heel to get back to your starting position. Complete the reps with your right leg, then switch sides.
Calf raises. Start with both feet on the vibration plate. Press through the balls of your feet to raise your heels up and off the platform, then lower your heels back down.
You’ll most likely find that the vibration plate makes it harder to do these exercises than if you were on solid ground. You may have to scale back on reps to keep proper form and prevent injury.
Takeaways
Some research shows that vibration plates may help with weight loss, improve muscle building, help reduce the risk of falls, as well as improve thinking skills, back pain, and blood pressure. But these studies have been small.
If you’re trying to lose weight or otherwise take on a healthy lifestyle, vibration plates may make a good addition to your plan. But always check with your doctor before you use them. They’re no substitute for the basics of good health, like regular exercise and a healthy diet.
Vibration Plate FAQs
Do vibro plates actually work?
They appear to offer some health and fitness benefits, but it’s not clear if they’re as effective as tried-and-true methods to help both, like regular exercise. There need to be larger, better designed studies to know for sure what vibration plates can and cannot do.
What are the negatives of vibration plates?
Vibration exposure itself has been linked to an increased risk of low back pain among drivers of work machines. Research suggests that some vibration plates give off vibrations up to seven times higher than what’s generally considered safe. But the long-term safety risks are unknown. It’s a good idea to always check with your doctor before you use one, especially if you’re pregnant, older, or have a medical condition.
What does a vibration plate do for your body?
Vibration plates force your muscles to constantly contract and relax when you’re on them. As a result, it’s thought that they may help you build muscle, burn fat, and improve your balance.
Do vibration plates help you lose belly fat?
Research suggests that they may help you lose belly fat. A study found that vibration plates were better at reducing visceral fat than a traditional aerobic and resistance training program.
Do doctors recommend vibration plates?
It’s hard to tell, as no major medical organization has come out with a statement for or against vibration plates. At this point, there’s just not enough research to definitely recommend for or against vibration plates for anyone.
Has anyone lost weight with a vibration plate?
A study published in the journal Endocrinology found that mice that spent 20 minutes a day on a vibration plate over 3 months reduced fat in their bellies and liver. But don’t get too excited yet: These sorts of studies need to be repeated in humans. If you do lose weight with a vibration plate, it’s probably because you’ve also taken other steps, like cutting your calories and doing regular exercise.
Is a vibration plate better than walking?
A 2016 study placed middle-aged women with obesity into three groups over 9 months: dieting only, dieting and vibration training, and dieting and aerobic exercise. The study found that the second and third groups lost more fat than the women who just dieted alone. Their conclusion was that both were most likely equally effective.
Can you break up fat with vibration?
No. It’s thought that vibration plates may help to reduce your overall body fat by helping you lose weight.
How long does it take to see results using a vibration plate?
There doesn’t seem to be an exact time frame. Most studies have followed people everywhere from a period of 6 weeks to months.
Can you just stand on a vibration plate to lose weight?
Research suggests that you burn more calories if you stand on a vibration plate than if you just stand on a stable surface. A 2021 study found that if you just stand on the plate, you burn the same amount of calories as you would if you walked slowly, at 2.2 miles per hour. But you’ll see more benefits if you ramp it up. Doing weighted half-squats on a vibration plate is similar to running at 6.5 miles per hour.
Who cannot use vibration plates?
It’s not clear yet who can or cannot use vibration plates. It’s always best to check with your doctor before you use one, especially if you’re pregnant or have other health conditions.
Do vibration plates get rid of cellulite?
A couple of small studies suggest that they can help. One study found that they appear to help reduce the appearance of cellulite, compared to a control group.
