In the last few years the use of vibrations as the next generation of super exercise and weight loss has become heavily touted on the Internet, the television and in the press. It has been credited with being able to accomplish some incredible things and amazing claims of being able to cure ailments and increase your overall muscle tone with whole body vibration therapy. How much of this is fact and how much of it is hype? Here we will try and explain what WBV is and what it is not so that you can decide for yourself if you are ready to try it. According to artifacts that have been found the ancient Greeks used a form of vibration therapy to help stimulate parts of the body that were not working properly. However, in more modern history the Russian space agency was having problems with their cosmonauts suffering from weak muscles and loss of bone density when they spent too long in space.

Their scientists were the first ones to find they could reduce the loss of bone density and increase muscle tone with whole body vibration treatment. However, even the Russians were not the first ones to use whole body vibration to tone up the body, the modern version of this therapy was developed by a Swedish physician by the name of Gustav Zander who had built and tested over 70 different machines aimed at exercise and some of these included the use of vibration therapy. Even the inventor of Corn Flakes, John Kellogg created a machine that he called the "Shaker" and went on to claim that it could be used as a cure for headaches, back pain and constipation. The Russians are credited with developing and refining the use of whole body vibration to tone the muscles as the best way to help their cosmonauts when they returned from extensive stays in space. The biggest problem for the cosmonauts who have spent too long in space is that the lack of gravitation pull on their bodies led to muscles that had atrophied and severe loss of bone density. In fact many of them had become so weak in space that by the time they returned to Earth they could barely walk and need assistance just to get out of the spacecraft.

Today many people are finding that using whole body vibration to tone up their muscles can be as effective if not more effective as going to the gym and working out. Many physicians are using this technique on patients who have medical diseases and conditions such as MS and Parkinson's disease to exercise and stimulate muscle strength as they cannot exercise in the traditional manner. The results have been outstanding. If you would like to learn more about improving your muscle tone and whole body vibration, visit Vibrahs who are one of the leading developers of whole body vibration therapy equipment. They are fully committed to developing equipment to improve your overall health and are members of the National Athletic Trainers' Association.