Effects of vibration on the delayed onset muscle soreness in young subjects

Abstract

Clinical muscle tenderness such as stiff neck and lumbago is often treated with massage, stretch, or vibration; however, the effectiveness of these procedures and their action mechanisms remain unclear. In the present experiment, we evaluated the effects of vibration stimulation on pain in exercise-induced muscle soreness (DOMS) model. The subjects were 13 healthy volunteers (9 males and 4 females), with ages ranging from 19 to 24 years (mean 20.9 years). The non-dominant upper arm was exercised with a load (2 kg for women and 3 kg for men) until exhaustion, and 3 sets with the same load were done with a 5 min rest period between sets. Eight subjects received vibration at 25 Hz with amplitude of 8.0 mm to exercised muscle (biceps brachii) 1 day after exercise and another were served as control. The present exercise protocol induced DOMS 1 day after exercise. Pain magnitude expressed in numerical rating scale (NRS) was increased upon the active movement of the arm and in the full extension position 1 day after exercise, but not increased in the full flexion position. Vibration given 1 day after exercise decreased NRS in full extension position only (p<0.01). Pressure pain threshold measured by a push-pull gauge was decreased 1 day after exercise but not changed by vibration. These results suggest that DOMS is composed of several factors and vibration can modify only a part of it, and that through peripheral mechanism. [Jpn J Physiol 54 Suppl:S171 (2004)]