Can Daily Vibration Help Aging Bones Stay Healthy?

Researchers at the Medical College of Georgia report that a daily dose of whole-body vibration can reduce the loss of bone density normally associated with aging.
The study, which is published in the journal Bone, reports that 12 weeks of daily, 30-minute sessions of vibration slowed down the normal bone loss in the 18-month old mice studied. The therapy improved density especially in the hip/femur region, a common area for debilitating fractures in the elderly. A biomarker that indicates bone breakdown was also decreased after the vibration sessions.
The researchers posit that the vibration causes movement of the cell nucleus, which in turn compresses the filaments which suspend the nucleus. This motion seems to release transcription factors which spur new osteoblasts, the cells that are responsible for creating bone.
The same group, based in MCG’s Department of Orthopedic Surgery, is also examining whether vibration therapy can cause increased glucose uptake by effects on insulin and perhaps reduce fatty liver disease in over-weight children at risk for diabetes.
Read the press release here.