All over TikTok and other social-media platforms, influencers are hopping on vibration plates. One sits on hers daily to “drain my thyroid.” Another says her “vibe plate” means she no longer needs to work out.
It’s a fitness fad that’s easy to roll your eyes at. Whole-body vibration plates don’t look all that different from the 1960s’ “exercise” belts that promised to shake off fat. But pro athletes and even astronauts use these machines, and scientists have been looking into them seriously for decades. So could the benefits be legitimate?
“What we’re seeing on TikTok is a loose interpretation of the data,” says exercise scientist Rachele Pojednic, director of education at Stanford Lifestyle Medicine. She says that while studies show that hopping on a whole-body vibration plate can move the needle in a few different areas of health and fitness, it’s a pretty tiny change.
“Research does support a modest level of benefits in some pretty specific contexts,” says Brent Feland, an exercise science professor at Brigham Young University who has studied the effects of vibration on things like stretching, sprinting, and blood flow. But, he adds, “whole-body vibration is not some magic little tool.”
How vibration plates work
There are two main types of whole-body vibration platforms: linear plates that move up and down in one piece like a tiny elevator, and oscillating plates that tilt side to side like a seesaw (which can get more intense the farther you step out to the sides). Both move in a pretty small range of motion—up to about 14 millimeters, max—but they can do it anywhere from 5 to 50 times per second.
These quick movements force your muscles to rapidly contract and release, says exercise physiologist Rachelle Acitelli Reed. Just like during traditional exercise, those muscle contractions set off physiological responses, like increased blood flow, a higher body temperature, and the release of proteins called myokines that help bring glucose into the muscles.
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Additionally, because the plate keeps pushing you upwards over and over again so quickly, Feland says it creates a stronger gravitational load, meaning there’s an extra pull on your bones and muscles.
Proven benefits vs. Hype
So what does science say about the potential of vibration plates?
There’s a good amount of data showing that they can help improve balance, likely because they activate the neuromuscular system. “The catch is the population where the most beneficial effects have been found for are older, deconditioned individuals, or those with physical debilitations or neurological limitations,” Feland says. If someone has a condition that prevents them from doing traditional exercise, standing on a plate can trigger those muscle contractions without them having to actively move their large muscles or joints, explains Darryl Cochrane, an exercise and health science professor at Massey University in New Zealand who’s published a number of studies on whether vibration can enhance athletic performance. This is why you’ll often see vibration plates used in rehabilitation settings.
There’s also some data behind the possibility for whole-body vibration to improve bone mineral density, particularly in post-menopausal women and geriatric populations. “The thought is that those little contractions and relaxations are in some way loading the bone,” Reed says. Feland adds that the additional gravitational load gives an extra stimulus for the bone to build more tissue in people who don’t get that through weight-bearing exercise or resistance training.
Some research shows that whole-body vibration can also help a little with certain aspects of athletic performance, like muscular strength and power and range of motion. Cochrane’s research has found it can warm up the muscles faster than cycling or jogging, without using up as much energy. “You go do five 30- or 60-second bouts on a whole-body vibration platform, and you’ll actually get a semi-decent warm-up from it,” Feland says.
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Plus, it just feels good. “That’s the magic of being bombarded with vibration,” Feland says. “Every joint segment and every tissue in you is moving and oscillating at this frequency. You’re firing off a ton of neurosensory receptors, and that’s interfering with some of your other sensory signaling that’s normally going on.” If your knee is bothering you, for instance, the vibration might distract your brain enough for the pain to temporarily retreat. (That said, a good dynamic warmup can have the same outcome, he adds.)
Unfortunately, influencers’ claims around “wobbling your weight away” by simply standing on a vibration plate aren’t really backed up by evidence, experts say. Compared to standing still, “you get just a little more calorie burn because your muscles have to work a bit harder against that external force,” Pojednic says. But research shows you’d burn more simply by going on a brisk walk.
Another claim that experts find to be misleading is that vibration can spur lymphatic drainage. “It is moving the fluid around. However, so does going for a walk,” Reed says. Feland adds that even though whole-body vibration companies themselves often tout the lymphatic benefits, “there is not one study that has ever measured lymphatic drainage and lymphatic improvement” with these devices.
Who might benefit most from vibration plates
Based on the proven benefits, experts mainly recommend vibration plates for two distinct populations on opposite ends of the spectrum: People who aren’t strong enough to do a traditional workout, and serious athletes looking to eke out a little extra performance enhancement.
“The maximum benefit is for the compromised population, the ones that are having trouble with balance, mobility issues—it could be an entrée in terms of starting a fitness program,” Cochrane says. He adds that for athletes, the plates can offer a new way to challenge the body to get past a plateau or just keep workouts from getting monotonous.
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That said, as long as you’re using them correctly, vibration plates are unlikely to cause harm, so there’s no reason for the average adult not to use one if they want. “If this is really jazzing up your routine enough for you to be motivated, cool, I love that for you,” Reed says. Just treat it as an additional tool rather than a replacement for exercise, she and Cochrane both add.
How to use a vibration plate
Many vibration plates come with all kinds of settings: dialing up amplitude increases intensity, for example, and a higher frequency ups the number of vibrations per second. But there is not yet enough research to know the ideal settings or even duration of use. The best approach might differ from person to person. “We do think that people have different frequency responses,” Feland says. “We just haven’t figured out how to tap into that yet.”
Experts recommend starting small until you get used to vibration: Cochrane suggests beginning with the frequency set to 10 to 15 hertz, and doing five sets of 30-second intervals while standing in a shallow squat. Eventually, you can bump up the frequency and start to do strength training on the platform (like squats, lunges, planks, or bridges). Just be sure to work up to trickier moves gradually so the vibrations don’t knock you off balance, Pojednic adds.
And always use proper form. “The right way to stand on these is bending at the knees and bending over at the hips, because you want to minimize vibration to the head,” Feland says. There have been case studies of negative effects to tissues in the head (like a torn retina) when people stood on these with straight legs.
Most of all, remember that whole-body vibration is not a get-fit-quick scheme. As Cochrane says: “You still need the motivation to [use] it, just as if you’re jumping on an exercise cycle or going out for a brisk walk or anything. You still have to find time to do this.” But it could give you just a little boost—and make getting fit a bit more fun.
