What is Vibration Therapy?
Vibration therapy is the practice of vibrating part of the body, or the whole body, to strengthen bone mass and muscles. Developed over 100 years ago, it has been used in physical therapy settings, and in both the Russian and American space programs to protect astronauts from muscle and bone loss in zero gravity.
In the rehabilitation context, a patient will sit, stand, or lie down on a machine connected to a vibrating platform. When vibrations are transmitted through your body, it causes muscles to contract and relax in rapid succession. The stimulation may also help produce more osteoblasts, the type of cells that produce bone. The duration and intensity of the treatment will be tailored to each patient to generate specific results.
For people with mobility constraints, injury, or neuromuscular disorders, vibration therapy can be an important part of keeping their body strong and healthy when ordinary exercise isn’t possible. It can improve circulation to the muscles, reduce pain, increase muscle mass and bone density, and boost the immune system. For people with muscle tremors or spasticity from a disease like Parkinson’s, vibrations have been shown to help alleviate the severity of tremor.
More research is needed to validate the full range of benefits of vibration therapy, but it has a long track record of being a beneficial component in the repertoire of mainstream physical therapy, rehabilitation, and occupational therapy.
Why Use MieronVR with Vibration Therapy?
MieronVR is a Virtual Reality Neurotherapy program, offered to rehabilitation facilities for use with in-patient and out-patient treatment for SCI, TBI, Cerebral Palsy, stroke & more.
Many practitioners are using MieronVR with a variety of physical and occupational therapy programs, including gait training, parallel bars, FES machines, vibration therapy, and stand-alone as a new type of PT & OT and pain management tool.
MieronVR comes with a library of rehab based VR therapies including gait training, upper body movement, lower body movement, lateral movement, PT & OT, head and neck mobility & more.
Providing truly immersive, guided virtual reality experiences that pair seamlessly with rehabilitation exercises like vibration therapy, MieronVR presents several additional benefits to the patient:
- The virtual environment makes repetitive movement more fun and engaging by introducing game-like activities and goals.
- Virtual reality transports the patient out of the rehab center and into mentally invigorating surroundings.
- Direct positive feedback and post-session metrics to the patient and the therapist encourages persistence and compliance.
- The known benefits of VR on pain abatement can help make the therapy session more comfortable for the patient, or allow for greater intensity without pain.
- Adaptable to all levels of mobility and fully wireless and ergonomic
Paired with Vibration Therapy, Mieron can help patients exceed their expectations and push through levels of discomfort on their way to recovery. Guided exercises within the Mieron virtual environment is a great compliment to vibration therapy in the clinical or home setting.
MieronVR Testimonials
“I do not have great balance as a C6 quadriplegic SCI but i was not thinking about my balance issues when using Mieron – I was just accomplishing a given task”
– Brent Poppen, 2-time Paralympic medalist
Mieron Testimonial: Jeff, Lead Specialist at Abilities Recovery Center
Where can I find providers of MieronVR?
MieronVR may be offered in a clinic near you! Contact us by emailing hello@mieronvr.com, or chatting with a representative on our website, where we can help determine if the clinical or home version is a good fit for you.
You can also book a quick demo with us by clicking here!. We can go over anything you want to know in roughly 20-30 minutes.
At MieronVR, we’re dedicated to helping you do more to achieve more.
