Whole body vibration and neuromuscular response

Abstract

Whole body vibration is considered to be a significant risk factor for low back and other related musculoskeletal disorders, resulting in substantial financial costs to society and loss in quality of life. Both direct and indirect effects of vibration leading to pathology have been identified for the vibrating human. Vibration-induced neuromotor activation has been suggested as an indirect mechanism for increased injury risk by altering low back stabilization and dynamic response. The transmission of vibration through the neuromuscular system was investigated. Neuromotor transmission was defined as the contribution of vibration-induced lumbar motions to paraspinal muscle activity. A transmission function was quantified for a frequency range of 3-20 Hz at three different vibration magnitudes. A double peaked pattern was seen in this transmission with a peak between 4-6 Hz and another peak at 10 Hz. The latter peak may correspond with the internal resonance of the neuromuscular system.