The immediate effect of whole-body vibration on rectus abdominis muscle activity and cutaneous temperature: A randomized controlled trial

Abstract

ObjectivesTo compare acute effects of isometric abdominal exercises performed with or without vibration on the electromyographic activity and cutaneous temperature in the abdominal region of physically active individuals. MethodsA randomized controlled crossover clinical trial was undertaken in thirty volunteers who completed one unique session of two different protocols of interventions apart from a week from each other, in a two-week study protocol. The subjects were randomly divided in to two groups of 15 volunteers; both were assigned to perform board exercise (30 s on the front, right and left lateral boards, with a rest interval of 2 min). The first group performed it on a vibrating platform at a frequency of 30 Hz for the first week, while the remaining participants executed the same exercise without stimulates vibration. In the second week the protocol was inverted. The outcome were surface electromyography (EMG) data for the rectus abdominis muscle (RAM) and cutaneous temperature (CT) of the abdominal region. Normality was accepted, and Student's t-tests were used to compare the measurements for dependents variables (P < 0.05). ResultsThere were no differences in RAM activation and CT between protocols with or without vibration (P > 0.05). CT increased (P = 0.001) after both the exercises with and without vibration. ConclusionThe results suggest that there were no effects in cutaneous temperature or muscle activation through the use of vibration associated with isometric abdominal exercises.