Vibration therapy gives aging baby boomers another option in the fight to stay fit.

By Vivian Eisenstadt, MAPT, OCS

An important aspect of being a suc-cessful physical therapist is knowing who comprises your patient load and keeping up with societal changes that might affect the practice.

Unless you've been living under a rock, you know that baby boomers are going to be interested in your services, and they are coming in droves. As a result, the aging of baby boomers is having a tremendous impact on the services that physical therapists can deliver.

The baby boom era actually began when the United States experienced an explosion of births after American soldiers returned home from World War II.

Sociologists define those born between 1946 and 1964—people currently age 42 to 58—as baby boomers. Today, these 76 million people represent 28 percent of the American population. A second boom didn't occurred as boomers reached childbearing years. Therefore, many experts say the baby boom phenomenon is a one time event and unlikely to happen again.

So what does that mean for us? Basically, now is the time to capitalize on this potential surge in your patient population. For physical therapists, that means making a diagnosis and dealing with the injuries at hand, but you also must manage joint degeneration, osteoporosis and a vast load of past medical histories that are going to be catching up with your baby boomer patients.

Patients are staying more active into their older years, but they're also getting frailer due to basic biological processes that occur with normal aging.

This is where whole body vibration (WBV) comes in as a tremendous asset to your practice. WBV was originally developed for Russian cosmonauts so that they wouldn't lose muscle strength or bone density while away from the Earth's atmosphere, which enabled them to stay in space longer.

For baby boomers, WBV can make a significant difference by reducing the severity of symptoms, speeding recovery from illness and injury, and providing a better overall state

of wellness.

Although the following conditions can affect baby boomers, WBV can have a positive impact on them.

• Arthritis. An estimated 40 million Americans have some form of arthritis or rheumatic condition.

WBV affects joints by relaxing the muscle spindles and adding flexibility to muscles, thereby decreasing pressure on the joints, increasing general circulation to replenish muscles and joints, and delivering nutrients throughout the body. WBV is comparable to bouncing on a fitness ball, in that it increases intake of fluids into the joints of the knees and spine, and promotes elimination of toxic buildup in the joints by stimulating the lymph system.

• Low back pain. More than 26 million Americans between the ages of 20 and 64, and almost 6 million people over the age of 65, have frequent low back pain.

With WBV, I notice that patients think they're contracting their transverse abs, but they're actually contracting their scalenes. Long-term sitting habits have promoted this short-circuit of the brain to the abdominals, and WBV helps most of my patients "remember" how to properly contract their transverse abs.

• Osteoporosis. As baby boomers age, osteoporosis becomes a common cause of a fall. And a fall can easily turn into a total hip replacement.

Most research on WBV and osteoporosis has been led by investigators at the State University of New York (SUNY) at Stony Brook.

In 2004, the SUNY-Stony Brook group reported the results of a trial involving 70 postmenopausal women treated at Creighton University's Osteoporosis Research Center who were randomly assigned to two 10-minute sessions per day on either the oscillating plate or a placebo device.

After a year, the group using the real oscillating plate experienced a 2 percent to 3 percent advantage over the placebo group in preserving bone at the spine and hip.

A related study involving children with cerebral palsy, who are prone to inactivity-related bone fragility, found that using the oscillating plate—even at half the prescribed duration—resulted in a 17 percent net improvement in trabecular bone density measured in the tibia.

A 2002 article on caring for aging baby boomers by Health Service Research states that the economic burden of aging in 2030 should be no greater than the economic burden associated with raising large numbers of baby boom children in the 1960s. The challenges of caring for the elderly in 2030 will involve the following:¹

• ensuring that society develops payment and insurance systems for long-term care that work better than existing ones;

• taking advantage of advances in medicine and behavioral health to keep the elderly as healthy and active as possible;

• changing the way society organizes community services so that care is more accessible; and

• altering cultural views of aging to make sure all ages are integrated into the fabric of community life.

To meet the long-term care needs of baby boomers, social and public policy changes must begin soon. Meeting the financial and social service burdens of growing numbers of elderly baby boomers won't be as daunting a task if necessary changes are made now, rather than when baby boomers actually need long-term care.¹

WBV has had a profound impact on my clinic. People recover more quickly after a heart attack. Those with low back pain can now find their transverse abs and feel better for good. People starting to exercise out of necessity after an injury (most of the baby boomers) begin to understand the importance of regular activity again after 20 or 30 years of a sedentary lifestyle. As a result, they are able to exercise with less fatigue and have better recovery rates between treatments. There's a clear difference between patients who can use WBV versus those that can't due to a precaution that prevents them. My patients love how it feels and want to attend therapy.

I now have at least 30 patients and clients who solely use WBV for

general strengthening and balance, to prevent injury and osteoporosis and to achieve a better feeling of daily wellness. And these patients are willing to pay out-of-pocket for this cash-based treatment.

The changes I've witnessed in these patients and clients are remarkable. Their energy seems more positive, and they report having less aches and pains, stronger muscles and the ability to get through their day with more stability.

My personal experience with WBV began after I suffered from chronic fatigue syndrome for 12 years. Although I felt tired for 2 weeks after I started WBV, it felt as if the intensity of the treatment detoxified my cells and rid my body of a still-dormant level of the virus. After those 2 weeks I felt more energy than I had in 14 years. So you don't have to convince me to keep using WBV as I age into my 50s and 60s. For my patients and clients, the proof is in the results and in their feedback.

Reference

1. Knickman, J.R., & Emily, K. (2002). Health Services Research. Accessed at www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-91568394.html

Vivian Eisenstadt, MAPT, OCS, is owner of Prevent The Pain Therapy, an outpatient Pilates-based physical therapy and wellness center in Los Angeles. She can be reached at vivian@preventthepain.com or www.preventthepain.com