Power Plate for Peripheral Neuropathy: Does it Help?
Many people suffer from peripheral neuropathy, or damage to nerves that extend from your brain and spinal cord. The condition causes weakness, pain, numbness, often in the feet, legs, or hands. Neuropathy is often associated with diabetes, but can have many other causes, including chemotherapy, nerve disorders, and other chronic illnesses.
Many people who suffer from neuropathy have struggled to find effective methods for relieving pain and reducing symptoms. Power Plate is a certified medical device and unique tool that can significantly reduce neuropathy symptoms, and many Fit For You clients have personally experienced the difference that whole body vibration can have on their neuropathy. Power Plate has become the only device of its kind to achieve Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT) certification from the Mayo Clinic.
Power Plate has become the only device of its kind to achieve Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT) certification from the Mayo Clinic.
A 2013 study published in the Journal of Bodywork and Movement therapies looked specifically at patients suffering from diabetic peripheral neuropathy [DPN] and found that whole body vibration [Power Plate] “demonstrated a significant (p < 0.05) acute pain reduction in the VAS [visual analog pain scale]a, and a significant chronic reduction in both the VAS and NPS [neuropathic pain] scales”(1)
Another study published in the journal Supportive Care in Cancer (2019) looked specifically at the benefits of Power Plate on patients with chemo-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN). The researchers “conducted a prospective, four-armed, randomized, controlled trial, to evaluate the effects of sensorimotor training (SMT) and whole-body vibration training (WBV) on patients with CIPN.” Study participants were placed in either a sensorimotor training group or a whole body vibration training group and exercised twice a week for 6 weeks. They were compared to a non-exercise group undergoing chemotherapy, and a healthy non-exercise group. The study examined multiple outcomes such as pain, sensitivity, reflexes, strength, light touch perception, and others. They found that while the sesorimotor training group improved more in tendon reflexes, the whole body vibration group had superior results regarding pain. The researchers concluded that both types of exercise have “a large potential to reduce CIPN-related symptoms and can be considered feasible and safe for patients with CIPN.” (2)
Why is vibration so helpful for neuropathy? With each vibration of the plate, your nerve sends a signal from your nerve endings to your brain. Just as walking through the grass one time will not leave a path, but walking through the grass over and over carves out a walking path, the repeated vibrations of the plate (30-50 times per second) strengthens the nerve pathway from your muscle to your brain, strengthening the communication between the two. In addition, Power Plate increases blood flow which can also improve nerve function.
Key Benefits of Power Plate
If you would like to speak with one of our staff or trainers about how Power Plate can help with your neuropathy, call us today at 239-379-9611 or email hello@fitforyounaples.com.
References:
Nathan J. Kessler, Junggi Hong, Whole body vibration therapy for painful diabetic peripheral neuropathy: A pilot study, Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies, Volume 17, Issue 4, 2013, Pages 518-522, ISSN 1360-8592, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbmt.2013.03.001. (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S136085921300017X)
Streckmann, F., Lehmann, H., Balke, M. et al. Sensorimotor training and whole-body vibration training have the potential to reduce motor and sensory symptoms of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy—a randomized controlled pilot trial. Support Care Cancer 27, 2471–2478 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-018-4531-4 https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00520-018-4531-4#citeas
