Effects of Whole-Body Vibration in Cardiorespiratory and Hormonal Parameters in Elderly People: Preliminary Results

The aging process is accompanied by reduced muscle mass, referred to as sarcopenia, which contributes to fragility, loss of functional mobility, independence and mortality in the elderly. Although resistance exercises are preferred, whole body vibration exercise (WBV) has recently been introduced as an alternative training modality. Recent studies have demonstrated that the application of WBV in sarcopenic elderly improves bone mineral density, hormonal status, mobility, balance, reduction an prevention of falls and fractures. Thus, the present study aims to evaluate the cardiorespiratory and hormonal responses during the exercise of a dynamic squat with and WBV in the elderly population. The individuals who underwent both intervention protocols: squats with and without WBV. The exercise protocol was 40 Hz and 4 mm, with eight sets of the 40 s of exercise and rest. This study suggests that cardiorespiratory and hormonal responses after different types of exercise were similar in both groups.