Effects of Whole Body Vibration on Vertical Jump Performance Following Exercise Induced Muscle Damage

Enhancing vertical jump performance is critical for many sports. Following high intensity training, individuals often experience exercise induced muscle damage (EIMD). Many recovery modalities have been tested with conflicting results. The purpose of this investigation was to determine the effect of whole-body vibration (WBV) on vertical jump performance following EIMD. 27 females volunteered for 7 sessions and were randomly assigned to a treatment or control group and administered each testing day. Vertical jump performance was assessed via vertical jump height (VJH), peak power output (PPO), rate of force development (RFD), relative ground reaction force (GRFz), and peak activation ratio of the vastus medialis (VM) via electromyography (EMG) before and after 3 days of EIMD via split squats. Two testing sets were collected each day, consisting of pre measures followed by WBV or control, and then post second measures. A 2×8 (group × time) mixed factor analysis of variance (ANOVA) was conducted for each variable. No significant interactions or group differences were found in any variable. Significant main effects for time were found in any variable, indicating performance declined following muscle damage. These results indicate that WBV does not aid in muscle recovery or vertical jump performance following EIMD.