Effects of 8-week Intensity-Controlled Whole-body Vibration Exercise on Architectural Properties of the Ankle Plantar flexors in Elderly Women: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract

OBJECTIVES This study was to investigate the efficacy of intensity-controlled whole-body vibration exercise on architecture properties of the ankle plantar flexors in elderly women. METHODS A randomized-controlled design was used. Three groups were recruited in this study (VI group (n=15, 69.5±3.9 years), ET Group (n=13, 68.5±4.0 years), CON Group (n=15, 69.9±3.3 years)). Ultrasound was used to measure the architecture parameters (pennation angle, fascicle length and muscle thickness) in the triceps surae muscles. And also, circumference of the lower leg was measured. During the 8-week exercise protocol, elderly women performed exercise program using their body weight on a whole-body vibration device (Pro6 power plate, Power plate International Ltd, UK). Changes in the muscle architecture and circumference were compared between groups by two-way repeated measures of ANOVA (2 groups x 4-time points, 3 groups x 2-time points), and an LSD post-hoc test and t-test were performed to determine significant differences between pairwise comparisons. The significance level was set at ⍺=.05. RESULTS Medial gastrocnemius became thicker after the 8 week training session (p<0.05). But there was no statistically significant difference in other parameters between VI and ET group. CONCLUSIONS The 8-week whole-body exercise resulted in hypertrophy to the ankle plantar flexors, regardless of the vibration intensity control method. It seems that the whole-body vibration exercise could be feasible and doable exercise for elderly women. However, there is little influence on muscle architecture and circumference of ankle plantar flexors.

Keywords

• elderly
• muscle architecture
• vibration intensity
• whole-body vibration