The effects of whole‐body vibration training and vitamin D supplementation on muscle strength, muscle mass, and bone density in institutionalized elderly women: A 6‐month randomized, controlled trial

Study answer

What this study found

Whole-body vibration added no additional musculoskeletal benefit over vitamin D supplementation alone, and the higher vitamin D dose increased circulating 25(OH)D more but did not improve muscle strength or hip BMD further. In the WBV plus 1600 IU/day group, within-group changes over 6 months included isometric muscle strength +4.48%, dynamic muscle strength +7.94%, muscle mass -0.26%, hip BMD +0.75%, and serum vitamin D +171.27%. However, between WBV and no-WBV groups there were no significant differences for isometric strength (+3.86%, 95% CI -1.32 to 9.05; p=.182), dynamic strength…

Study & population

Randomized controlled trial in institutionalized, postmenopausal elderly women over 70 years of age in the Leuven, Belgium area.

Intervention

Participants received oral vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) for 6 months at either 1600 IU/day or 880 IU/day, with the vitamin D regimen tested with or without whole-body vibration training.

Key limitation

Modest per-arm sample sizes and a 6-month follow-up limit power to detect group differences and long-term effects.

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Original abstract