The Short-Term Effect of Whole Body Vibration Training on Sprint Start Performance in Collegiate Athletes

Whole body vibration (WBV) is characterized by a vibratory stimulus emitted throughout the body through the use of a vibrating platform on which the subject stands. Studies have shown over 30% increases in maximal explosive strength such as maximal speed biceps curl as well as increases in maximum dynamic force such as maximal sitting bench pull as the result of vibration. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of short term whole-body vibration on sprint starts among collegiate track athletes. On the first day eleven subjects were randomly assigned to either a non-vibration or vibration group for initial testing. The vibration group used whole body vibration along with their normal warm-up routine while the non-vibration group did not. Force measurements were taken where the starting blocks were placed using a force plate embedded under the track surface following the warm up. One week later the groups alternated. The results were then compared between vibration and non-vibration groups for individual athletes. The vibration protocol occurred for 60 s at 26 Hz with an amplitude of 4mm on a Galileo 2000 platform. Repeated measures analysis of the variance showed peak resultant force was 6% greater when the vibration platform was utilized prior to the start (p=0.013). Further research is needed to determine whether any meaningful differences exist in sprint start velocity as a result of WBV. There were no observed differences in the 30m sprint times.