Are Vibration Boards Safe for Children?
Vibration boards are a fitness fad that has returned in the last few years. Sellers of these products promote their use as a strengthening tool and for recovery after a workout. The evidence for this is not strong. However, I wondered how they may work for children as a sensory tool. Vibration is already known to be a way to provide proprioceptive input, and occupational therapists have used handheld massagers and oral motor vibration tools for children for a long time to provide sensory input.
Could a Vibration Board Help Children with Sensory Processing Differences?
I have a couple of students who I think would do well with some vibration input for their whole body, but I questioned whether a vibration board would be safe or contraindicated for children so I decided to do some research. I could only find a little research on the subject. The most helpful one I found was a meta analysis of the data (Godley et.al, 2023) primarily focused on its use for therapy for motor skills.
According to this research, vibration boards have been used with children who have cerebral palsy and other motor impairments. Research is weak on their safety and effectiveness and sample sizes were small. There is more research for adults, though it is still relatively weak.
There Are Known Risks with Exposure to Vibration in Adults
This article states, “It is well accepted that Whole Body Vibration (WBV) can result in intervertebral disk displacement, spinal vertebrae degeneration, and osteoarthritis. Vibration transmitted through the spinal column to the head may induce hearing loss, visual impairment, retinal tearing, vestibular damage, and even brain hemorrhaging at very high vibration magnitudes.”
But the risk is primarily with high intensity vibrations and/or repetitive use. It is less of a concern with low intensity vibration, which we are all exposed to daily.
How Do You Know What Intensity Can Be Safely Used?
Godley’s article indicated that the intensity level needs to be less than 1g of gravitational force to be safe. So far my research into commercial vibration plates has not been able to confirm the actual g-force, just the acknowledgement that they have a variety of settings. The researchers were also unable to get this information from the ones they researched.
Can a Vibration Plate Affect Cognition or Inhibition?
I found another meta analysis study from a chiropractic journal (Barnes, 2022). It was primarily focused on its use in pediatric chiropractic care for strengthening bones and reducing muscle tone, but mentioned a potential improvement for some symptoms of ADHD. The risks of vibration in children was minimized in this article. However, one study that the author referenced was with just one adult with ADHD who tried it and the other was a study of healthy children without a diagnosis. I thought I should review those studies for more information.
Some Evidence That Cognition Improves with Vibration in Healthy Children
When I read the study further it appeared that there was a reduction in impulsivity and an improvement in cognition with the use of a vibration board, with the children sitting in a chair that was attached to the board to receive the input for this study.
Use at Your Own Risk
It makes sense to me that whole body vibration may be helpful for sensory input for children, so I was hopeful that I could try it with the children with whom I work. Based on my research, however, I do not feel confident that this is a safe tool for children unless the vibration can be measured in g-force and is very mild. Vibration boards made for adults may be too intense; it is unknown when the manufacturers are not providing details needed to have confidence in their safety for children.
So, whether you are a parent who has a vibration board at home and children who may want to use it, or if you are a therapist considering using one for sensory input with a client, it is probably best that they don’t use them until there is more robust research regarding their safety. At this time I would limit use of whole body vibration to tools that already exist exclusively for children.
Even then, the research indicated that it was best that children do not sit on them; rather they should stand with bent knees. The amount of time they are on the vibration board was not considered in the studies, so it is best that exposure is brief. And if the child has any issues, such as being prone to retinal tears, spinal issues, or a seizure disorder, then it is likely best to avoid a vibration board, even one meant for children.
Alternatives to Consider (or not)
If you have a child who would benefit from vibration for sensory input, consider using a handheld massager, wiggle cushion with vibration. The tools I found that are made for children are quite expensive. This is the only board that I found specifically for children, but also found a mattress. There are also massage mats made for adults that offer mild vibration, but because all of the ones I found also heat up, they may be best to avoid unless use is closely supervised.
*And just a quick addition: If I had trusted Google’s AI results for this article I may have missed much of this important information as the first answer to my question, “can children use vibration plates safely?” was YES. However, the articles linked to provide that response were from private practice blogs, Tik Tok, and Youtube, not particularly reputable sources.
Sources:
Barnes T. Using whole body vibration in the pediatric population: a primer for the chiropractor. J Clin Chiropr Pediatr. 2022;21(1):1877-1881.
den Heijer AE, Groen Y, Fuermaier ABM, van Heuvelen MJG, van der Zee EA, Tucha L, Tucha O. Acute effects of whole body vibration on inhibition in healthy children. PLoS One. 2015 Nov 2;10(11):e0140665. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0140665. (PMCID: PMC4629895)
Godley D, Csongradi J. Whole Body Vibration Therapy for Children with Disabilities: A Survey of Potential Risks and Benefits. Arch Rehabil Res Clin Transl. 2023;5(4):100298. doi:10.1016/j.arrct.2023.100298. (PMCID: PMC10757164)