Good Vibrations

(article published in NASA Science News)

A new treatment under study by NASA-funded doctors could reverse bone loss experienced by astronauts in space.

November 2, 2001: ”Use it or lose it.”

The familiar mantra of fitness buffs applies as much in space as it does on Earth — perhaps more so. The bones and muscles of astronauts, freed from the familiar strains of gravity, can weaken alarmingly. Muscles atrophy relatively quickly, while bones lose mass during prolonged exposures to weightlessness.

Reducing muscle atrophy requires exercise — and lots of it. Astronauts in space spend about two hours each day working out with the aid ofexotic devicesthat rely on springs, elastic, and harnesses to provide resistance and mimic body weight.

Unfortunately, such “countermeasures” have not solved the problem of muscle or bone loss. It’s an ongoing problem for astronauts — and for researchers!

Above: The proper type and amount of exercise is a key to maintaining muscles and cardiovascular fitness in space. But the workouts astronauts have tried so far haven’t yet solved the problem of bone or muscle loss. Image courtesy Johnson Space Center.

But now, perhaps, there could be a solution — at least for bones: NASA-funded scientists suggest that astronauts might prevent bone loss by standing on a lightly vibrating plate for 10 to 20 minutes each day. Held down with the aid of elastic straps, the astronauts could keep working on other tasks while they vibrate.

The same therapy, they say, might eventually be used to treat some of the millions of people who suffer from bone loss, called osteoporosis, here on Earth.

“The vibrations are very slight,” notes Stefan Judex, assistant professor of biomedical engineering at the State University of New York at Stony Brook, who worked on the research. The plate vibrates at 90 Hz (1 Hz = 1 cycle per second), with each brief oscillation imparting an acceleration equivalent to one-third of Earth’s gravity. “If you touch the plate with your finger, you can feel a very slight vibration,” he added. “If you watch the plate, you cannot see any vibration at all.”

Although the vibrations are subtle they have had a profound effect on bone loss in laboratory animals such as turkeys, sheep, and rats.

Left:Vibration plates such as this one were used for experiments on bone loss involving turkeys, sheep, and rats. Pictured with the turkey is researcher Dr. Clinton Rubin. Photo credit: Cary Wolinsky. This image originally appeared in a National Geographic feature article “Surviving in Space.”

In one study (published in the October 2001 issue ofThe FASEB Journal), only 10 minutes per day of vibration therapy promoted near-normal rates of bone formation in rats thatwere prevented from bearing weight on their hind limbs during the rest of the day. Another group of rats that had their hind legs suspended all day exhibited severely depressed bone formation rates — down by 92% — while rats that spent 10 minutes per day bearing weight, but without the vibration treatment, still had reduced bone formation — 61% less.
These results show that the vibration treatment maintained normal bone formation rates, while brief weight bearing did not.

Clinton Rubin, a professor of biomedical engineering at SUNY Stony Brook and principal investigator for the study, cautions that more experiments are required before scientists can be sure that vibration therapy is effective for people. “Animals are different than humans,” he notes. And even among humans there are important variables, like nutrition and genetic make-up. What works for post-menopausal women (who often suffer from osteoporosis) might not work for astronauts in space.

In a recent “Phase I/II” clinical trial of vibration therapy, researchers applied the treatment to 60 post-menopausal women. Studies using adolescent girls with very low bone density and children with cerebral palsy are also underway.

“The early results from the research with post-menopausal women are very encouraging — but they are preliminary. To determine efficacy, we will need a larger scale clinical trial that runs for a longer period of time,” Rubin says.

A broader “Phase III” clinical trial is currently being organized, which will provide a strong indication of the treatment’s effectiveness for the general population of osteoporosis sufferers.

Right: The primary weight-bearing bones — highlighted here in purple — are also the ones most susceptible to weakening in space. Picture fromHuman Physiology in Space, a curriculum supplement for secondary schools. (Lujan and White)

Whether astronauts would benefit from a vibration-plate regimen is a question that can only be fully answered by conducting experiments in space, Rubin says. Such tests have been proposed, but none are scheduled yet.

Rubin hopes that future experiments will reveal not only whether vibration therapy works, but also why. It’s a bit of a puzzle because the treatment doesn’t comfortably fit within the framework of conventional wisdom: Currently, most bone researchers believe that the stresses placed on bones by, e.g., bearing weight or strong physical exertion, signal the bone-building cells through some unknown chemical trigger to fortify bones. According to this thinking, the remedy for bone loss in space should be exercises that duplicate stresses on our muscles and skeletons experienced during a daily and active life on Earth.

Unfortunately, without the pull of gravity it is very difficult, if not impossible, to duplicate loads routinely experienced by our muscles and bones on Earth. The regimen of exercise that astronauts perform in space has shown some promise as a countermeasure, but not enough to protect long-voyaging astronauts from injury or bone fracture when they are re-exposed to gravity — either here on Earth or on some other planet.

Rubin suggests that perhaps it’s not only a few, large stresses placed on the skeleton that signal bone formation, but also many smaller, high-frequency vibrations applied to bones by flexing muscles during common activities such as standing or walking.

Muscles may appear to pull steadily and constantly when flexing — like the pull of a stretched spring. But muscle contraction is more complex than that. Individual muscle cells in most skeletal muscles can’t provide a sustained pull — they can only apply a quick “twitch.” To create a constant pull, the brain activates groups of muscle cells within a muscle (called “motor units”) in a rapid, repeating pattern.

Above: The interior of bones isn’t completely solid. Instead, it consists of a web of mineral filaments — called “trabeculae” — and cells (not shown in this micrograph). These trabeculae provide structural rigidity while minimizing weight, like the steel cross-members in a crane or a highway sign. Image courtesyNASA Quest .

You can feel these subtle patterns by squatting and resting your hands on your thighs — the slight trembling of your thigh muscles is the sequential contraction of the muscles’ motor units. The frequency of such contraction ranges between 10 and 100 Hz. In comparison, the experiment with rats used a 90 Hz vibration, and the experiments with humans are using 30 Hz vibrations.

“Our hypothesis is that a key regulator of bone mass and morphology are the mechanical stimuli that come out of muscle contractions,” Rubin says. “So instead of these big, intensive deformations of bone, it’s basically lots and lots of little ones [that provide a major stimulus for bone growth].”

“While exercise in space may generate some of these signals, we believe that microgravity essentially extinguishes these signals during the great majority of the day, as postural activity is [markedly reduced compared to here on Earth],” he says. “The vibration treatment generates a much larger signal in this frequency range, and we believe that 10 minutes per day of this higher frequency signal is sufficient to provide a maintenance signal to bone.”

Above: When future astronauts return to Earth after a long voyage to Mars and back — all in reduced or zero gravity — they will need strong bones to once again stride across their home planet. Vibration therapy might be the key. Painting by Pat Rawlings.

“This is a real departure from the accepted theory of how mechanical signals control bone, and it is certainly controversial,” Rubin says.

Nevertheless, it might work. Good vibrations — unexpected and controversial — could be the key to healthy bones on Earth and beyond.

Editor’s note: Exercises in space using devices that mimic body weight and exert stress on the musculoskeletal system have not yet succeeded in eliminating muscle and bone loss. However, caution researchers, the type, intensity and duration of exercise that humans perform here on Earth has not yet been duplicated in space.

Web Links

NASA’s Office of Physical and Biological Research – tackling puzzles like osteoporosis through space research.

Subscribers to the FASEB Journal can read Dr. Clinton’s original researchhere.

“Good Vibrations” May Prevent Bone Loss in Space – NASA press release about the research featured in this article.

Space Bones – Science@NASA article: Weightlessness sure looks like a lot of fun, but prolonged exposure to zero-G in space can have some negative side effects — like the weakening of human bones!

Gravity Hurts (So Good)– Science@NASA article: Strange things can happen to the human body when people venture into space — and the familiar pull of gravity vanishes.

Dr. Clinton Rubin — Professor, Chair of Department of Biomedical Engineering. SUNY Stony Brook.

National Space Biomedical Research Institute– home page.

Q&A about osteoporosis– from the American Medical Women’s Association

Bone Loss research group– webpage for the division of the National Space Biomedical Research Institute studying bone loss in space. Also has links to other divisions of NSBRI that deal with different medical issues related to space travel.

Prevention of Bone Loss During Manned Space Flight– information about the Vanderbilt University research discussed in this article.

Sub-regional Assessment of Bone Loss– fact sheet for an experiment on bone loss conducted on the International Space Station during Expedition Two. Information on this experiment from NASA’s Johnson Space Center can also be found here .

Medical benefits of NASA research on bone loss– information on how research to solve the mystery of bone loss in space helps to advance the treatment of osteoporosis.

A Boon for Bone Research– a medical tool for measuring bone stiffness without using radiation was developed for researching bone loss in space, but it is also proving useful for diagnosing bone loss here on the ground.

Calcium Kinetics During Spaceflight– technical information about how calcium is regulated in the body, both on the ground and in space. From NASA’s Johnson Space Center.

Bone Function– from the National Space Biomedical Research Institute.

Investigation of bone growth in space– from the National Space Biomedical Research Institute.

Biotechnology research in microgravity– from NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center

More links on osteoporosis– from the National Aging Information Center

Video testimonial of a lady who suffered from chronic fibromyalgia and found permanent relief through whole body vibration exercise using a Vibetronix Whole Body Vibration machine.

According to this testimony, Judi not only found a cure for her fibromyalgia, but also enjoyed many other benefits from this form of easy exercise including increased flexibility, endurance and the ability to keep pace with her active grandchildren.

Many studies have been conducted to investigate whether osteoporosis can be prevented or even reversed using whole body vibration therapy.

copyright: Jackie Cooper 2010

• osteoporosis
• Parkinson’s disease
• balance
• flexibility
• mobility
• joint pain
• back pain
• muscle strength
• bone mass density

A recent article in the online journal Canadian Chiropractor outlines vibration exercise therapy and discusses the methods for evaluating a vibration exercise machine.

Dr. Jaspar Sidhu D.C. has provided some insights into the world of whole body vibration from a wellness professional’s perspective.  According to Sidhu, “With its many benefits for the patient population, it’s no surprise that vibration exercise therapy is one of the fastest growing modalities in the chiropractic and physiotherapy profession.”

Sidhu’s article cites the following as some of benefits of whole body vibration exercise as:

• Faster strength gains through neurological adaption
• Shorter training times per session
• Patient populations that have been shown to benefit include those suffering from multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia, spinal cord injury, osteoporosis, and Parkinson’s Disease, to name a few

Tyra Banks demonstrates whole body vibration on her show with a volunteer.

She weighed the volunteer before and after…. after just 10 minutes of whole body vibration she had lost a pound! Check it out!

[youtube kJgwMDgz-5s]

Whole Body Vibration was featured on a very special episode of daytime television’s new hit The Doctors. On the show FBE demonstrates how their popular Whole Body Vibration Machines burn calories, strengthen bone, build muscle, improve posture, etc. etc. Fran Drescher was a special guest on this episode. Watch her vibrate!

Duration : 0:4:34

[youtube KviOYEGpkmg]

Hello,

I appreciate your quick and thoughtful answer to my questions.

Now to tell you what I have experienced myself… I have Lymphedema of the lower extremities. I have had this condition since surgery for cancer in 1988. I have had to be on a Lympha-press machine for 6-8 hours everyday of my life for 20 years! It pumps the fluid/toxins out of my legs into my kidneys but not very effectively.

Now…. 12 short days of my WBV I have not had to use my pump at all. You HEARD correctly… NOT ONCE!

I have used it for an hour 2 times while watching football but did not have to…. I wanted to. It gives a massage of sorts and I figured it wouldn’t hurt me.

I started out the first day with 15 minutes two times that day. The swelling in my feet & legs went down quite a bit.

My digestion improved considerably and I felt like a million bucks! The 3rd or 4th day I did 20 minutes twice a day.

Now the machine I’m using has a programable feature which takes a break after 25 seconds then 35 and works like that up to 120 seconds then it stops. The time from start to finish on the total body workout feature is 7 minutes but that is counting the breaks. I do that 3 times or that program & 2 or 3 others that work the same way.  The actual time of the workout counting all breaks is about 30-40 minutes.

I do not just stand there on the machine. I vary the positions and do a work out of sorts. One foot on, then the other in a lunge position, hands on with feet off the machine while bending over or on my knees with arms on the machine… and many more.

I over did it one day and needed a nap. lol but other than that one time I have not had any problems or issues.

I sleep better at night. Have more energy all day long. I am happier. Have more time to live since I am not spending as much time on the Lympa-press machine. All in all I think it is the best thing I have ever done for me.

I noticed after about 1 week that my body is changing shape, or I should say getting a shape. lol

I noticed today that my jeans are getting baggy in the butt and legs. I got on the scale after 12 days of this amazing machine and I have lost 7 lbs.

I am going to take your advice and not do this more than twice per day but starting my day with the first 30 minutes (20 of vibration) and then another 10 minutes after dinner instead of a walk is what the plan is.

Feel free to pass my story on to others. If this thing continues to help me I will be screaming it from the highest mountain to every Lympedema patient in the world.

In addition to Lymphedema I am currently about 55 lbs overweight and ironically I am a 55 year old female.

I was 62 lbs overweight 12 days ago! I have a long way to go but I am having fun and it is working.

If you want I will keep you in the loop of my progress. Let me know.

Thanks for your answers,
Deb

Some estimates are that 28 million people in the U.S. are affected.  Approximately a million osteoporosis related bone fractures occur per year with around 50,000 deaths related from post-bone fracture complications.

The traditional ways of treating bone density loss involve medication using pharmaceuticals and calcium supplements.  This approach generally treats the symptoms, rather than the causes.

Holistic therapies tend to treat causes, rather than symptoms, in the belief that by treating the cause, you will effectively remove the symptoms.

Whole body vibration has been used as an effective therapy for osteoporosis because it provides the replacement for load bearing physical activity necessary to maintain bone density and muscle mass.  In layman’s terms, osteoporosis is combated by muscle stimulation exerting stress on the bone.  When normal physical activity proves inadequate due to factors such as inability to exercise, leaching of calcium from bones through diet or hormonal changes, intervention is necessary.

Whole body vibration has been proved to provide safe and effective intervention when properly used.

Some studies indicate that the triangular oscillation type whole body vibration has a more beneficial effect than the linear, or vertical only vibration.

For further details on this you may download a scientific study published by the Journal for Rehabilitation Research and Development  here.  On the home page are videos that also provide anecdotal case history information.