Whole-Body Vibration Exercise in Cancer

Cancer is a generic term for a large group of malignant diseases that can affect any part of the body. Although the treatment of cancer is constantly improving survival of the individual, cancer and cancer treatment often result in psychological and physiological sequelae and side effects that impact on the functional ability and the performance to do essential daily activities. The adverse effects of cancer treatments can disturb every part of the body with manifestations such as gastrointestinal problems, vascular complications, bone loss, cancer-related fatigue, neurological effects, cancer-related cognitive impairment, and muscle and cardiorespiratory function, urinary function, and skin function impairment leading to other psychological and physical impairments. Exercise program can be considered an intervention capable of influencing multiple systems and psychophysiological pathways simultaneously and might be useful to compensate adverse effects and also to enhance quality of life. Exercise improves muscle atrophy and weakness, bone mass, fatigue, immune function, insomnia, anxiety, cognitive decline, and quality of life, among others. Works have shown the whole-body vibration exercise (WBV) benefits in the rehabilitation programs of patients with chronic diseases. There are an increasing number of investigations on the effects of WBV on functional exercise capacity reduction, fatigue, weakness, urinary incontinence, bone loss, and peripheral neuropathy in cancer survivors. The relevance of WBV to the management of cancer survivors will be shown in this chapter.