Dual-frequency whole body vibration enhances vertical jumping and change-of-direction ability in rugby players

Wen-Wen Yang; Li-Wei Chou; Wei-Han Chen; Tzyy-Yuang Shiang; Chiang Liu

doi:10.1016/j.jshs.2015.12.009

Dual-frequency whole body vibration enhances vertical jumping and change-of-direction ability in rugby players

J Sport Health Sci. 2017 Sep;6(3):346-351. doi: 10.1016/j.jshs.2015.12.009. Epub 2015 Dec 24.

Authors

Wen-Wen Yang^{1

2}, Li-Wei Chou², Wei-Han Chen^{1

3}, Tzyy-Yuang Shiang⁴, Chiang Liu¹

Affiliations

¹ Graduate Institute of Sports Equipment Technology, University of Taipei, Taipei 111, Taiwan, China.
² Department of Physical Therapy and Assistive Technology, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei 112, Taiwan, China.
³ Department of Physical Education, National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei 106, Taiwan, China.
⁴ Department of Athletic Performance, National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei 116, Taiwan, China.

Abstract

Background: Traditional vertical and side-alternating whole body vibrations (WBV) can effectively improve muscle power performance but have a limited efficacy for enhancing change-of-direction (COD) ability. Novel dual-plate WBV uniquely providing various directions of movements with higher and distinctive frequencies for each leg may cause better acute effect on muscle power and stretch-shortening cycle efficacy contributing to COD ability. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the acute effect of dual- or single-frequency WBV on squat jumps (SJs), countermovement jumps (CMJs), eccentric utilization ratios (EURs), and COD ability in rugby players.

Methods: Fourteen male rugby players were recruited and performed a 4 min partial squat with 3 types of WBV protocols on a dual-plate WBV machine, including 1 dual-frequency WBV protocol (DFW) with the dominant leg receiving 35 Hz and the non-dominant leg receiving 45 Hz, and 2 single-frequency WBV protocols (SFWs) with 35 Hz or 45 Hz provided to both legs (SFW35Hz and SFW45Hz) on 3 different days.

Results: The results showed that all the vibration protocols significantly improved SJ and CMJ performances (SJ: p = 0.008; CMJ: p < 0.001), but did not significantly change EURs (p > 0.05). In addition, only the DFW significantly improved COD ability (p = 0.001 for the pre-post comparison).

Conclusion: A 4 min dual-frequency WBV session improved both vertical jumping and COD ability in rugby players, suggesting that this could be a potential warm-up protocol for athletes.

Keywords: Agility; Balance; Frequency; Strength; Stretch-shortening cycle; Training; Warm-up.