The scientifically proven effects of vibration massage- with clinical applications
In this summary we investigate the science behind the use of vibration massage. This helps us envisage uses and to develop protocols. ... Read Article
If you have cellulite marketing like this can give the impression that foam rolling will be a great help. The reality is that at best foam rolling will give you a slight temporary improvement in the appearance of your cellulite. It will not give you any significant long term changes, and certainly will not have you looking like the marketing pics.
The good news is that clinical trials show that while most of treatments marketed for cellulite are of little long term benefit, there is one easy to apply form of self massage that does give excellent lasting results.
In this article we’ll quickly show you why the likes of foam rolling are a complete and utter waste of time, then show you what does work.
To put it simply, as we show in this next section treatments such as foam rolling only temporarily squeeze fluid from the tissues and maybe flatten them a bit. It does nothing to reduce the amount or size of the fat cells that cause the cellulite tissue to be enlarged and have it’s dimpled appearance.
If we look at the pic comparing normal tissue and cellulite we will see that the main problem is that the fat cells have enlarged, causing the tissue to expand and bulge out. This increases the size and gives cellulite it's dimpled appearance.
In the pic we also see that those cells are surrounded by fluid and encased in strong connective tissue pouches. Foam rolling (and other forms of fluid reduction such as lymphatic drainage) help squeeze out some of the fluid from around the cells and may also mechanically flatten some of the tissues like a steam roller. This will temporarily improve the appearance, but the fluid will gradually seep back in, and the elasticity of the flattened tissues will cause them to “bounce back”. In other words it’s a matter of time before everything returns to the way it was.
You may read that foam rolling (and some of the other therapies) help increase circulation. They do, and as we discuss next increasing circulation is very important, but the amount and duration of any increase is too small to have a significant effect.
Scientists have found that fat accumulates in cellulite tissue because the circulation in these tissues is poor (1). Your body stores excess energy as fat, but when it needs it the poor circulation means that it is not efficiently reabsorbed. The fat gets absorbed from the parts with good circulation, but left in the areas of poor circulation.
The way scientists successfully reduced cellulite in clinical trials is by regularly applying massage that increases circulation. Over time this allows the body to normally reabsorb the excess fat, reducing the size of the cellulite part and improving it’s appearance.
For your reference we have summarised the results of the clinical trials in the appendix and have pasted a table of data below from one of the trials showing the reduction in size of patients hips, thighs and waist.
What we will do is first show you the different ways the scientists did this in the trials. They all work, and may be an option for you. We’ll then show you the ideal way you can do this yourself, based upon the science of massage and increasing circulation.
You need repeated massages over time
For your body to re-absorb excess fat the circulation needs to be maintained over a long period of time, but massages only increase circulation for a limited time. This means the massages must be regularly repeated. Many trials used daily massages for weeks or months. This would be very expensive if using a professional therapist, which is why our ideal way uses self massage.
The following three types of conventional massage were used. They all had roughly similar results.
Most professional massage therapists would use a combination of one or more of these therapies. However, because of the large number of applications needed the cost would be prohibitive.
Some studies applied vibration massage using a vibration platform. These are usually used by people standing on them, but the scientists used them to directly apply the vibration. In other words people did things like sit on them to directing apply vibration to their backsides.
Vibration platforms are not designed to be used like this so they are not optimised to directly apply the best vibration to increase circulation. Therefore, there are better options, but if you have one the scientists found that they help.
Vibration platforms are marketed as a help for cellulite, but practically speaking just standing on vibration plates does not increase circulation. What they do is enhance exercises so you burn more calories, ie. your muscles work much harder to maintain balance. This will help reduce your total amount of fat, but will not target cellulite specifically.
Massage chairs were successfully used in some of clinical trials. They are expensive, take up a lot of room, and it is hard to specifically apply vibration to parts of your body such as the front of your thighs. Also, their vibration frequency is usually not optimum to increase circulation. However, if you have one the scientists found that they helped, and you can easily sit relaxed having a massage while watching your favourite TV show.
Now we know that the best way to help cellulite is to maintain increased circulation in the affected areas we can use all the science of massage and it’s effect on circulation to come up with the best possible solution for you.
We know that repeated conventional massages work very well. However, you will need a large number of sessions so for most this option will be inconvenient or too expensive.
Directly applied vibration is an excellent therapy proven to increase circulation. The trials used massage chairs and cushions for their convenience, but purpose built therapeutic vibration massagers will do a much better job.
The easiest way to show you what therapeutic vibration massagers are and how they work is to use an example a lot of people will have seen. This pic is of a vibrating compactor. They have a flat contact plate that vibrates and sends copious amounts of vibration deep into the ground. Genuine vibration massagers work in a similar way. Later we will show you how to choose a good one.
Although massage guns vibrate and their marketers claim the benefits of vibration they are not really suitable. Simply speaking, massage guns are designed to work more like a jack hammer. Compared with the vibrating compactor a jack hammer sends far less vibrations into the ground while causing a lot more damage.
Scientific studies have shown that 30 hz (cycles per second) vibration will increase circulation, but 50 hz will give you a bigger and more longer lasting increase (2). The massage chairs used in the trials were 18-36 hz which gave some benefits, but a therapeutic massager delivering 50 hz would be much better. You will need to make sure the equipment you use will deliver this. If specifications are in rpm 50 hz is 3000 rpm.
In the trials longer applications such as 30-60 minutes were used. However, it would be much more effective to uses several applications a day of a few minutes each. The reason we say this is that studies show that when 50 hz vibration is applied the circulation will rise to the much higher level in about two minutes. When the vibration stops circulation gradually decreases back to normal over about 30 minutes. Therefore, each time you apply the massager for a few minutes you will get 30 minutes of residual increase in circulation.
Unfortunately a lot of massagers marketed to consumers are very poor. Also, as discussed in our article Do massage guns actually work percussion massager (massage guns) are not appropriate and potentially unsafe. To help you choose an effective machine we have a separate article How to choose a massager . However, what we’ll do is give you pictures of some we think would do a good job, then our ideal solution.
We make two hand held massagers that are easy to use and give excellent therapeutic vibrations. These are our General Purpose Massager and our Ultimate Quad Head Massager . Of these the quad head massager would be the ideal choice for cellulite massage.
We have a few hints and precaution in our article How to use a hand held massager , but basically it is extremely simple. You just set the machine at about 50 hz and place the head of the massager on the part you wish to massage. The machine does all the work. There is no need to press in or rub as you would for conventional massage.
As previously discussed the way to get the best results with the least amount of effort would be to massage each part for a few minutes several times a day.
DrGraeme massagers were originally built by Dr Graeme for use in his clinic, and to prescribe to his patients for additional self use at home. Now these are used by colleagues and other professionals for similar purposes. If you are a professional and wish to know more about this therapy, or possibly get a sample massager to trial please check out our practitioner page.
Trial |
What they did |
Results |
Notes |
---|---|---|---|
30 or 60 minutes vibration daily for three weeks |
Reduced grading+ of cellulite |
||
Used 17.5-46 Hz vibrations for 30 or 60 minutes a day for three weeks |
Reduced grading+ of cellulite. Increased skin temperature |
Sub optimal vibrations |
|
15x 30 or 60 minutes locally applied 18-39 Hz |
Reduced grading+ of cellulite, increased skin temperature |
Sub optimal vibrations |
|
24 weeks of using hand held vibration wand. |
Visual improvement |
Used a device marketed as a cellulite wand, but no where near a serious therapeutic device. |
|
15 applications of 18-39 Hz vibration over three weeks. |
Decreased symptoms. Increased skin hydration. |
Sub optimal vibrations |
|
4 weeks of 17.5-46.5 Hz vibrations |
Decreased measurements for thighs, hips and waist |
Vibrations only 0.5mm so extremely poor penetration |
|
10 sessions of whole body vibration |
Increased skin temperature |
||
Tested three types of conventional massage++ |
All gave a reduction in sub-cutaneous fat |
Professionals would likely combine all three for excellent results |
|
NOTES: |
For research or description cellulite is graded as follows. Where the grades were reduced in the trials that means that the cellulite improved.
We are continually adding more information on research and uses. Subscribe below to have us email them to you "hot off the press".
Several years ago Dr Graeme, a Chiropractor practicing in Victoria, Australia was looking for a serious hand held massager his patients could use at home to get the extra quality massage they needed. The ones he found in the shops and on-line for home use looked nice but were not serious, and... read more
In this summary we investigate the science behind the use of vibration massage. This helps us envisage uses and to develop protocols. ... Read Article
If you’re interested in chiropractic adjustments you’re probably wondering if they will be of benefit for you or someone you know. You... Read Article
Foam rollers have become a popular way to have practically unlimited self massage. They are inexpensive and can easily be carried to... Read Article
In this article we will discuss the health and wellness benefits of regular or wellness massages that have been scientifically... Read Article
Scientists have found that a high proportion of headaches result from pain coming from the muscles and joints of your head and neck. ... Read Article
Massage guns are heavily marketed as a substitute for professional therapists, providing benefits such as sports recovery and pain... Read Article
Clinical trials have shown that massage is effective in relieving fibromyalgia. However, the results show that some are better than... Read Article
Trigger points are those tender lumps in muscles that therapists find. This article covers what they are, what they do, and how they are... Read Article
Do not refresh or leave this page until loading complete.