Weighted vest or vibration plate

How long do you use it each time you do? Thank you.

I have had the Marodyne vibration plate for a year now and love it. I use it before I walk and once again at night. I'll find out this week if my bone density has improved.

I’ve been considering a vibration plate even though I have slight scoliosis due to a degenerative disc. I think my good old body can handle 30hz and the lowest amp possible starting slow and working up to 10 minutes. All my life I have been athletic. I really think my diet messed me up the most. I was a vegetarian for too many years without paying attention to my protein needs.

I am still considering but right now am thinking of buying the VT007 @ vibrationtherapeutic.com. The maker of that device challenges Marodyne with his machine which can do similar vertical low vibration at 30hz but can do higher as well which makes it more versatile. He is an engineer and he developed the device which is made in Minnesota. He has an informative and very helpful website with the best information I’ve found explaining vibration plates in general and also comparing what he has developed to Marodyne and Power Plate. His device is much less expensive than Marodyne and Power Plate with a 10 year warranty and 90 day trial with free return. At least if it doesn’t work out one hasn’t lost as much money and one can return the device free of charge within 90 days. I would like to hear more about your weighted vest. If used correctly and with a safe weight I think that could help me also. My doctor said “no” but I think the doctors I deal with will say no to anything outside their realm of experience/knowledge.

I was also considering purchasing a vibration plate. Instead, I searched for a facility that uses vibration plate therapy and luckily found one. The Dr said I wasn’t a candidate due to several fusions which used screws. They may back out due to the vibration. Think twice if you have any hardware in your body.

I am 74. Have quite bad scores for osteoporosis but don’t want to take the meds due to sensitivity to most meds. I have the marodyne plate for two years now . I can’t really say it’s helped yet until my next scan in New Year. I am taking fortibone as I don’t eat dairy plus very good diet and vit D plus low dose calcium . I walk each day but can’t work out with weights as I suffer from CFS at moment . HRT tried a few months back but didn’t suit me as it lowered my blood pressure too much. You just have to keep trying to find what suits you I guess. What else can we do ??

@trixiegirl I get that the Marodyne is expensive and that makes other vibration plates tempting. But to my knowledge none of the other vib plates were designed with bones in mind nor studied with bones in mind. I read a paper by the VT007 maker and I could see a number of flaws in his logic and a misrepresentation of Clinton Rubin and his work. And I'm no engineer at all, just reading carefully both the VT007 guy's paper and having listened to and read Dr Rubin's work. Dr Rubin's credentials are really solid, way way beyond VT007 person being an engineer. See https://www.stonybrook.edu/commcms/bme/people/c_rubin.php if you're interested.

All that said I own a Marodyne and it did not seem to help me. And more importantly Belinda Beck of the LIFTMOR and VIBMOR trials has said in recent interviews that the Marodyne did not have any effect they could detect on bone density in the VIBMOR trial. Results of the trial are not yet published but she has stated this in more than one interview. Perhaps it has other good effects but at this point I would not recommend the Marodyne or any vibration plate to anyone.

The studies that have shown improvements in bone density have used intense weight training using movements like squats and deadlifts and impact from jumping (or hopping) and landing with force. My favorite examples are the LIFTMOR and related trials by Belinda Beck in Australia. I think it's also unknown if weighted vests help much. No definitive study. I'm using one with fingers crossed.
Good luck to all of us with bone loss

I believe weight bearing, as in the weighted vest, will maintain strong bones, but not build bone. My understanding of the PT research is that to create new bone there has to be small fissures in the bone that the body then fills with new bone. Impact activity, and again I may be wrong, but I think it’s a jump from a height of 14 inches that will do this. Unfortunately for some of us, that may also cause compression fractures of the spine. And, again some of us don’t build bone effectively for whatever reason (metabolic, inability to absorb nutrients, genetic) so what may work for some people, like a 14” jump, may only cause a fissure and no new bone.

There does seem to be some research on vibration plates that shows benefits to muscle. Mayo Clinic has some info and there is an article from the Cleveland clinic where the author tried out various vibration plates.

“vibration throws off the way your body is used to moving, forcing it to activate small, rarely-used muscles and fire in multiple directions at once, thereby accentuating the natural muscle-building process. In that way, vibration plates also would seem to be an excellent tool for stretching and improving balance.
Even better, I could see using vibration to warm up. Stepping off the plate after each use, I felt limber and warm, ready to go. Indeed, studies show most of the performance-enhancing benefits of vibration are momentary.
Which brings me back to a sort of favorable skepticism. Not of vibration itself, but of its value. Right now, the benefits of vibration plates don’t seem to justify their cost, at least not enough to make them a must-have device.
If you’ve got the money, great. You wouldn’t be wasting it.”

Read his full article to see how he was using the plate - most benefit was during active engagement.
https://www.cleveland.com/healthfit/2011/07/vibration_plates_not_a_passive.html

@awfultruth I ‘ve decided to return both vibration plates.
AVX and VT007 . More studies needed to convince me of improving bone density.

@tiny28 - I am considering adding the mineral strontium citrate to my supplements. I've spent hours reading the posts from Inspire.com as well as the medical publication links provided. Check out the success stories of those who are taking the over-the-counter strontium citrate (not to be confused w/other forms of strontium used in the UK, etc) from women in their 70s, 80s, 90s.