Fibromyalgia and the relevance of the whole-body vibration exercises in vibratory platforms: a short review

Abstract

Among nonpharmacological strategy to manage fibromyalgia, exercise (aerobic) has shown efficacy. Whole-body vibration (WBV) exercise has been proposed as a potential clinical intervention. WBV would induce increase in growth hormone (GH). An impairment of the hypothalamic-pituitary-GH-Insulin Growth Factor-1(IGF-1) axis has been implicated in the pathophysiology of fibromyalgia. This article aims to review the studies on exploring the relationship between WBV and fibromyalgia. Literature searches were performed in the PubMed database on 04/03/2010 using terms related to "pain", "whole body vibration" and "fibromyalgia". An important number of publications were identified with the term "pain" and in comparison, only a small number of articles were found related to "fibromyalgia". Three publications found with "whole body vibration" and fibromyalgia were analyzed.There are reports describing increase in serum IGF-1 following exposure to WBV in elderly patients. However, one randomized fibromyalgia trial revealed no changes in serum IGF-1 levels in women undergoing WBV. Due to the paucity of available, effective therapies for fibromyalgia, further studies that explore the relationship between the neuroendocrine system, fibromyalgia and WBV are merited

Inflammatory biomarkers responses after acute whole body vibration in fibromyalgia

“…Whole body vibration (WBV) has been proposed as a beneficial exercise modality for the treatment of FM ( 17 , 18 ) and other chronic inflammatory diseases ( 19 ). However, no study to date investigated whether this type of therapy could improve the inflammatory status in patients with FM.…”

Inflammatory Biomarker Responses to Whole-Body Vibration in Subjects with Different Clinical Status: A Systematic Review

“…WBV exercise is produced in individuals who are in contact with the base of a vibrating platform (VP) that transmits mechanical vibrations to them [ 24 , 25 ]. WBV exercise has been suggested as a non-pharmacological intervention to treat various inflammatory diseases, including some chronic diseases [ 24 , 26 ], such as osteoarthritis [ 27 , 28 ], metabolic syndrome [ 29 ], COPD [ 30 ], fibromyalgia [ 31 , 32 , 33 ], and obesity [ 34 ]. Several WBV protocols have been described; however, the mechanisms that underlie the IBR related to the WBV exercise in these clinical statuses are not yet fully clear.…”

IL-10 Cytokine as Potential Biomarkers in Women with Fibromyalgia Who Underwent to a Short Balneotherapy Treatment

“…Fibromyalgia (FM) is a non-articular rheumatic disease of unknown etiology. It is characterized by a polymorph clinical condition that includes diffuse myalgia, sleep disorders, morning stiffness and psychological disorders such as depression and anxiety, pain is the main symptom reported and studied in this pathological condition [1][2][3]. FM is more prevalent in women than in men, and its diagnosis is remains largely clinical, since there are no additional tests able to identify it [4][5][6][7][8].…”