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Updated: Jun 28, 2025

Whole Body Vibration Methods with Survivors of Polio
Published on: October 17, 2018
Frequency Transmission of Oscillation from External Whole-Body Vibration Platform to the Larynx
E M-L Yiu1, L K H Cheng1, F Wang2
1Voice Research Laboratory, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong.
Purpose:
This study investigates (1) the presence of frequency transmission of oscillation from an external whole-body vibration (WBV) platform to the larynx; and (2) the factors that influence this frequency transmission.
Methods:
Thirty participants (mean age=22.3years) with normal voice were exposed to four frequency-intensity levels of WBV (10 Hz-10%, 10 Hz-20%, 20 Hz-10%, 20 Hz-20%) and were instructed to produce the natural vowel /a/ three times during each WBV setting. The frequency was extracted from the middle 1-second of each electroglottographic (EGG) signal after passing through a Hann band filter with a range of 6-24 Hz. Linear mixed-effects models were applied to determine the factors that influenced the absolute deviation of the frequency transmission.
Results:
All participants exhibit an extracted EGG frequency that aligns with the external WBV frequency, deviating by - 0.6 to 1.2 Hz. The absolute deviation of WBV frequency transmission is consistent for both sexes across various WBV settings, except the 10 Hz-10% setting where men tend to exhibit significantly higher deviations (P = 0.018).
Conclusion:
Oscillations at a specific frequency are transmitted from an external WBV platform to the larynx. This study proposes the use of a "spring" system to investigate the effect of WBV on the larynx, and recommends further research to explore the potential of WBV in managing voice disorders.
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