The studies found that massage on a Power Plate® machine can significantly increase the circulation in arms and legs.
The study of Lohman et al. (2007) involved 45 subjects who
were randomly divided into 3 groups:
Group 1 performed static exercises, namely squat and 2 kinds of
calf raises at 30 Hz high on the "classic" Power Plate®
machine (figure 1). Group 2 performed the same
exercises with the Power Plate® machine turned off.
Group 3 received 3 lots of 60 second calf massages at 30
Hz high on the Power Plate® machine (see figure 4).
Skin blood flow was measured before, immediately after and
10 minutes after the exercise. As illustrated in (figure 2)an increase in skin blood flow was
recorded both immediately and 10 minutes after massage
on the Power Plate® machine amongst the participants in
group 3.
However no change in skin blood flow was recorded amongst the participants in the other 2 groups at either of those times. An explanation for not finding an increase in circulation in the exercise groups could be due to several reasons, namely that the blood flow requirements of the active muscles was greater than the increased blood supply, or that the fact that the blood flow was directed away from the skin and directed towards areas where it is needed, such as muscles. This study shows that short spurts of massage on a Power Plate® machine significantly increases skin blood flow on the lower extremities e.g. the calves.
In the study of Maloney-Hinds et al. (2008) 18 subjects were randomly divided into a 30 Hz high or 50 Hz high vibration group. Both groups received 10 minutes massage on their arms using the Power Plate® machine (see figure 4). Skin blood flow was measured every minute from baseline (pre vibration) up until 15 minutes after massage.
There is a marked increase in skin
blood flow after massage at both 30 and 50 Hz high with
the greatest peak after 5 minutes of massage in both
groups (see figure 3).
Although there is no significant difference between both
groups, the blood flow increased more rapidly and reached
a higher level amongst participants in the 50 Hz high group.
Another difference between both groups is the blood flow
during the recovery period, which remained higher amongst
the 50 Hz high group as illustrated in (figure 3).
Fig. 2 Changes in skin blood flow between groups over time. Fig. 3 This figure illustrates the mean changes in skin blood flow as a percent of baseline skin blood flow, with standard deviations during baseline, 10 minutes of vibration and 15 minutes of recovery for both 30 Hz and 50 Hz vibration (baseline level).
This study concludes that five minutes of massage on a Power Plate® machine at either 30 Hz or 50 Hz significantly increases the skin blood flow and thus circulation in the arms. Performing massage on the 50 Hz setting on a Power Plate® machine has additional benefits by increasing the blood flow more rapidly and retaining the level during the recovery period, making the effects longer lasting.
Circulation (blood flow) is essential to the human body. Increasing the blood flow to the skin and the tissue beneath it can improve the condition of the skin and firm up skin tone thus helping to reduce the appearance of cellulite.
Better circulation is also crucial for healing injured muscles, improving oxygen supply and helping to get rid of waste products, like lactic acid, from the muscles.
So, by increasing circulation, massage on a Power Plate® machine can:
Only a short massage is needed to get results. After three minutes of massage on a Power Plate® machine, there's an increase in skin blood flow which lasts until at least 10 minutes after treatment. The greatest increase in blood flow actually happens during the first five minutes of massage.
Carrying out massage on a Power Plate® machine on settings of both 30 Hz and 50 Hz high can increase blood flow to the skin and thus improve circulation. However massage carried out on a 50 Hz high setting increases the blood flow more rapidly and keeps the level higher du-ring the recovery period than that carried out on a 30 Hz high setting.