What is vibration massage?

When thinking of massage many will automatically think of sports, deep tissue or warm bamboo and hot stone massage.  But there is another type of massage that should be taken into consideration.

Vibration massage – also referred to as vibration healing - is often used not just in massage therapy but also in sports medicine, rehabilitation and physical therapy and uses a mechanical vibration device that is designed to target specific health issues or injuries.  It is also a technique that you can use on yourself if you are suffering from issues such as muscle stiffness or soreness, provided you have the right equipment and of course, read the instructions so you do not cause yourself any further damage.

But what makes vibration massage different to the more ‘mainstream’ varieties?  By using a vibrating device, such as the NOVA Vibration Massage Device, you can have either localised or whole-body vibration, enabling you targeted treatment both for bone or muscle issues.

The vibrations can stimulate different growth factors as well as work on muscle fibres that could be dormant. 

 Therapists have been using vibration massaging to help many different health conditions including multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease and cerebral palsy.  However the treatment can also be used for those suffering from fibromyalgia, arthritis and even tinnitus.

So far there has been several clinical trials regarding the benefits of vibration massage for your health, both short and long term, and some have shown that the process can provide many different benefits including the regulation of your blood sugar and the ability to increase a person’s metabolism.

It has also been suggested that those who have wounds or have had a stroke can use vibration massage to help stimulate recovery.

Meanwhile tests on those suffering from osteoporosis have shown that vibration massage can also help with the loss of bone mineral density

A 2013 clinical trial, published in Clinical Interventions in Aging, saw that over a six-month period, all postmenopausal women taking part in the trial had some improvement in the bone density in the lumbar spine region of their body.

There has also been a number of trials looking at the benefits of vibration massage for those suffering with fibromyalgia.

In 2008, the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine published a study that was carried out over a six-week period.  The study discovered that a combination of whole-body vibration alongside exercise therapy reduced the level of fatigue and pain in those taking part.  The study also looked at the effects of fibromyalgia patients who used purely exercise therapy and found by combining the two there was a higher chance of reduction in pain.

 Another ailment that saw benefits from using vibration massage was multiple sclerosis and a 2005 pilot study compared a group of patients being treated with vibration massage against those having a placebo treatment.  At the end of the study it showed that those being treated with whole-body vibration saw improvements in not just their mobility but their postural control too.

These are just a few of the benefits that vibration massage can provide however it is worth remembering that before you provide vibration massage as a treatment you should ensure that you are confident in your training to provide the treatment and that your insurance covers you for this activity.