Whole body vibration therapy and cognitive functions: a systematic review

Whole Body Vibration has been found to induce physiological changes in human subjects, improving their neuromuscular, respiratory and cardiovascular functions.

Evidence from animal research prove that whole-body vibration appears to induce changes in molecular and cellular levels to alter cognitive functions in mice.

There is evolving evidence for a potential value of whole body vibration in improving cognition and preventing the development of age-related cognitive disorders in humans.

However, literature on the biological consequences of whole-body vibration on the human brain is scanty.

If so, gathering the available evidences would help decide the possibility of designing appropriate whole-body vibration protocols to extend its application to induce neurocognitive enhancement and optimize its effects.

Therefore, a systematic review of the literature was performed, consulting the ProQuest, MEDLINE and Scopus bibliographic databases, to summarize the available scientific evidence on the effects of whole-body vibration on cognitive functions in adults.

Results of the review suggest that whole-body vibration therapy enhances a wide spectrum of cognitive functions in adults although there isn't enough evidence available yet to be able to design a standardized protocol to achieve optimum cognitive enhancement.