Page 4 - 38Vibration_Therapy_for_Health_Promotion

Complementary Therapies

Figure 2.
Sinusoidal waveforms related to mechanical vibration.

Figure 3.
Representation of a sinusoidal mechanical vibration.

stimulus. This corresponds to the projection of the entire cycle on the propagation
plane. It is important to consider that in the International System of Measurements,
the wavelength value would be expressed in meters. Considering the perpendicular
measure between the highest point or the lowest point (x1) of the mechanical
vibration and the propagation plane or the lowest point (x2) is the amplitude. The
perpendicular of the point X1 up to the level of the x2 is the displacement peak-
to-peak. The value of the displacement peak-to-peak corresponds to twice the
amplitude [17].
The peak acceleration (Ap) of mechanical vibration depends on the frequency
and the peak-to-peak displacement and is normally expressed in multiples of grav-
ity (xg). The peak acceleration can be determined using accelerometers, or accord-
ing to the equation Ap = 2 x π2 x f2 x D [17]. Peak acceleration allows defining the
intensity or magnitude of mechanical vibration and of the vibration therapy.
Two mechanical vibrations, with the same frequency, with displacement with
correspondences in points X1 and x2, are said to be in phase. On the other hand,
when these coincidences do not occur, the two stimuli are out of phase. These con-
siderations are relevant, in the same way, the stimulus generated in the platform has
its own amplitude, the medium being crossed also presents mechanical vibration.

3. Mechanical vibration and vibration therapy

Throughout the history of humanity, it can be verified that through various pro-
cedures, mechanical vibration has been added to a person’s body such as manipula-
tion techniques, and others related to breathing, such as coughing and percussion
[11, 18].
The addition of mechanical vibration can be through devices that transmit
the mechanical vibration locally. When the intervention aims to treat a complaint
referring to a specific anatomical segment, it is called local or segmental vibra-
tion therapy [10]. When mechanical vibration is transmitted to the whole person’s
body, aiming for an improvement in the physical performance, or as a clinical
intervention, there is the generation of whole-body vibration exercises [8, 12] and,

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