Training guide
A vibration plate shakes your body 20 to 50 times a second while you stand on it with your knees bent. Your muscles tense by reflex, so it works a little like a small, fast exercise. Against doing nothing, it improved leg strength and balance in older adults, and it may cut falls a little in people over 50. But in the largest trials it didn't build bone, and on its own it didn't change weight or fat.
This guide covers what the plate does and doesn't do, how to stand (knees bent, never straight), how long and how often, the lymph, fat and cellulite claims, the mild side effects, who shouldn't use one, and the strength, balance and bone exercises that do the same jobs better.
Vibration plates move about 20 to 50 times a second by a few millimetres, and your leg muscles tense by reflex to keep you steady. The Royal Osteoporosis Society notes vibration therapy "is not routinely available on the NHS".
The largest trials, in 202, 151 and 710 women, found no gain in bone density, and the UK osteoporosis guideline says vibration "does not increase BMD" (bone mineral density). Strength training and impacts are what build bone.
One review found about a third fewer falls in people aged 50 and over, mostly from one trial of daily sessions for 18 months, and in care homes vibration showed no benefit. Strength and balance exercise cut falls by 23% across 108 trials, with high certainty.
Plates improved leg strength and balance in older adults against doing nothing, but added little to the same exercises done without vibration, and strength training built more.
On its own a plate didn't change weight or fat across 20 trials of 585 people, and the one cellulite trial found no change in measurements. We found no trial of plates for lymph flow or lymphoedema.
Bent knees soak up most of the vibration before it reaches your head. Use the lowest setting, bouts of 30 to 60 seconds with rests, about 10 minutes of vibration in all, 2 or 3 times a week. The 10 minutes is our suggestion, from exposure studies rather than outcome trials.
Vertical (synchronous) plates lift both feet together. Side-alternating plates rock about a centre line like a see-saw, so the foot further from the centre moves more. Low-intensity plates look like bathroom scales and give a fine buzz. The Royal Osteoporosis Society says the vibrations feel big on a whole body plate and "small and fast" on a low-intensity one.
Frequency is how many times a second the plate moves (hertz, Hz); amplitude is how far (millimetres); together they set the acceleration, given in g (multiples of gravity). Bone trials ranged from 12.5 to 50 Hz and 1.5 to 12 mm, and low-intensity plates ran at about 0.3 g. Experts asked researchers to measure what a plate really delivers, because it can differ from its setting.
Each small jolt stretches your muscles a little and they contract by reflex, which the Royal Osteoporosis Society likens to exercise "where the muscles pull on bones". It's still you doing the squat or calf raise: trials that compared a plate with the same exercise found little extra.
Vibration travels up your body, and bent knees absorb it. On one plate, 78.9% of the acceleration reached the head with the knees locked against 10.3% with a deep bend, and volunteers stopped a straight-legged test at once because it was uncomfortable. Vertical plates sent more to the head than side-alternating ones at every knee angle.
You should be able to stand steadily and hold a partial squat for 30 seconds without the plate, holding a rail if you need to, and have none of the conditions under "Who shouldn't use one" (our suggestion).
Most trials were in women after the menopause and older adults, and balance and mobility gains showed up "particularly" in frailer older adults. No study tells you to change the setting for your body size, age or fitness, so everyone starts at the lowest setting (our suggestion).
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No 3D demo shows a vibration plate: the figure shows the half-squat stance you hold on it. Bouts and rests are from trial protocols, and care getting on and off is the Royal Osteoporosis Society's advice; the 5 to 10 bouts and wearing trainers are our editorial starting point.
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The movement on the figure: Bodyweight squat
Trials in people with obesity typically used 25 to 40 Hz at 1 to 2 mm, 3 times a week, with static or slow squats and calf raises in bouts of 30 to 60 seconds and rests as long as or twice as long as each bout, knees bent 20 to 45 degrees. Bone trials ran 2 to 7 sessions a week. One side-alternating trial used 6 bouts of 1 minute at 12.6 Hz with the knees bent to 60 degrees.
2 or 3 sessions a week on non-consecutive days, building from about 5 to about 10 minutes of vibration a session at the lowest setting you can feel, and under 15 minutes a day. That's our suggestion, from exposure studies that measured plates against a workplace vibration standard, not from trials of health outcomes.
There's no evidence that longer or harder sessions help more, and higher settings send more vibration to your head. The plate also isn't a substitute for walking or strength training (our reading).
In 202 women with low bone density, standing on a 0.3 g plate at 90 or 30 Hz for 20 minutes a day for 12 months "had no significant effect on any bone outcomes", with 65 to 79% of sessions done. In 151 women aged about 68, spine density rose about as much with exercise alone (2.1%) as with exercise plus vibration (1.5%) over 18 months. In 710 women over 60 using a plate 20 minutes a day for 18 months, bone density didn't change, and a 1-year trial of a low-magnitude plate found no change in its main analysis.
Hip density rose 0.93% in 70 women after 24 weeks of training on a plate, femoral neck density rose 4.3% against walking in 28 women after 8 months on a side-alternating plate, and spine and hip density improved in 51 women. These are small trials, and larger ones didn't repeat them.
Against controls, reviews found no difference (10 trials of 462 women; 15 trials), small hip gains of about 0.01 to 0.02 g/cm², which one review called "small", or a spine benefit only at about 30 Hz used for around 7,000 minutes in all. An overview of 15 reviews, 13 of them rated critically low in quality, concluded: "we do not recommend the use of WBV for improving BMD in postmenopausal women".
The UK osteoporosis guideline says whole-body vibration "has been demonstrated to reduce fall rate but does not increase BMD", and the Royal Osteoporosis Society says research "has not proven" it makes bones stronger. For bone, the UK consensus asks for strength training on 2 to 3 days a week and about 50 moderate impacts on most days, as our bone density guide sets out.
Across 14 trials in people aged 50 and over, the rate of falls was about a third lower with vibration (rate ratio 0.67; moderate certainty), but the number of people who fell wasn't clearly lower (low certainty). Most of that came from one trial of 710 women using a plate 20 minutes a day, 5 days a week, for 18 months, who had falls or fractures in 18.6% against 28.7%. A Canadian review noted that such a schedule "may not be feasible or acceptable for many older adults", and Cochrane falls authors advise using vibration only after an individual assessment, with guidance from a trained health professional.
In 2 trials of 233 care home residents, vibration didn't reduce falls.
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In a Cochrane review of 108 trials with 23,407 people, exercise cut the rate of falls by 23%, and balance and functional exercise was the most reliable kind, as our seniors plan says.
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Against no training, 18 trials in older adults found gains in knee strength, leg power, chair rising, getting up and walking, and walking speed (standardised effects of about 0.5 to 0.7, moderate). Earlier reviews found better balance and mobility scores, with the effect on falls "inconclusive".
In 21 trials in women, a plate beat the same exercise without vibration only for jump height. In older adults, the gains "are not apparent" against conventional exercise, and in network meta-analyses traditional strength training built the most strength. None of the options added lean mass.
In athletes, effects were "small and inconsistent", and none of 21 studies used a true dummy plate.
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Across 20 trials of 585 people, vibration alone didn't change body weight or fat. In 23 studies of people with overweight or obesity, fat mass fell by about 1 kg, "not clinically significant", with no change in weight, though systolic blood pressure fell by about 7 mmHg and leg strength improved. Our toning guide says the same: standing on one won't tone you up.
In one small trial, adding a plate or a fitness programme to a diet helped people keep 5% or more of their weight off over a year.
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In 42 women, 10 sessions on a plate made "no difference in intra- and intergroups in perimetry and the analysis of body contour", though raters judged the look better. Our cellulite guide explains why nothing changes cellulite for long.
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We found no trial of vibration plates for lymph flow, lymphoedema or lipoedema. Blood flow in the legs rises for a short time: 9 minutes at 26 Hz doubled flow in the artery behind the knee in 20 healthy adults, and leg vibration usually raises skin blood flow. Lymph moves whenever your muscles work, which is why walking and leg exercises help, as our lymphatic drainage guide explains.
Our lipoedema guide's reading stands: a German guideline says a vibration plate may be used to make pressure less painful, and a US guideline lists whole-body vibration among home options, but the evidence is weak. A plate doesn't remove lipoedema fat.
In 33 studies of healthy people, vibration showed no warning signs of clotting. That doesn't extend to people who have had a clot.
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Trials reported itching and redness of the lower legs, leg, knee or back pain, numbness, nausea and headaches, and "none of the SRs reported any severe adverse events" (SRs: systematic reviews). One falls analysis counted about 4.7 side effects per 100 people and no serious ones.
Plates ranged from levels safe for 8 hours a day under a workplace standard to levels "seven times higher than what is considered a safe threshold for even one minute of exposure each day". A typical setting of 30 Hz and 4 mm for 10 minutes a day exceeded the recommended daily exposure, with less risk on side-alternating plates and "at half-squats rather than full-squats or upright stance". The standard was written for workers, and we found no study linking plate use to lasting harm.
The Health and Safety Executive notes that at work, "Large shocks and jolts may cause health risks including back-pain" in drivers of rough-terrain machines: hours a day, not minutes on a plate.
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The figure can't show the plate. Hold the top half of a bodyweight squat, or do slow squats or slow calf raises, for 30 to 60 seconds at a time with rests between, 5 to 10 bouts (our editorial starting point, from trial protocols). Try a split stance only once the half squat feels easy, and leave out one-leg stands and push-up positions on the plate (our suggestion).
Sit-to-stands (up to 10, as in our seniors workout), step-ups (2 sets of 8 each side, as in our strength and balance workout), and single-leg and heel-to-toe stands next to a counter build strength and balance with no plate. The heel drop move page's dose: "20 to 30 drops at first, building toward about 50 impacts on most days, for example 5 sets of 10."
A plate session can't be shown on the 3D figure, and these workouts do what plates are bought for, with stronger evidence: strength and balance for falls, impact and strength for bone.
Strength and balance in one session: squats, Romanian deadlifts, push-ups, rows, step-ups, back extensions, carries and single-leg balance.
45 minBeginner14 movesA wall, A dumbbellA 40-minute strength and balance session for over-65s, built from the Otago home programme and NHS exercises, using a chair, a counter and a step.
40 minBeginner18 movesA bench or box, Something with weightBalance practice in 10 minutes: tandem stance, single-leg stands, marches, heel walks, tree pose and floor transfers.
10 minBeginner7 movesA wall, A bench or boxImpact, strength and balance for stronger bones, following UK osteoporosis consensus advice, with options for every level.
40 minBeginner14 movesA kettlebell, Other / check instructionsA gentle leg strength routine with no jumping: sit-to-stands, step-ups, wall sits, bridges and calf raises.
20 minBeginner7 movesA bench or box, A stepThe seniors plan is built on falls-prevention trials; the plans for women and men over 50 build bone and strength.
A 12-week exercise plan for over-65s: strength and balance three times a week, short balance sessions and daily walks, based on falls-prevention trials.
3 training days40 minBeginner3 days a weekA weekly plan for women over 50: strength, bone-loading and balance on 3 days plus walking, built on UK osteoporosis consensus advice.
3 training days45 minBeginner3 days a weekA 12-week workout plan for men over 50: three strength days with power and balance work, cardio and recovery, at the gym or at home, with a 4-day option.
3 training days45 minBeginnerWhole body vibration "will not be suitable" if you "have a condition that affects your heart or blood vessels (heart attacks or strokes)", "suffer with dizziness or inner ear problems", "have had a joint replacement such as in your hip or knee" or "have cochlear implants (surgically fitted hearing aid)". It "may also not be suitable if you've had spinal fractures or many fractures".
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People with a pacemaker, epilepsy or seizures, a blood clot or a high risk of one, a hip or knee replacement, kidney, bladder or gall stones, a hernia, lens implants, recent surgery, dizziness, severe heart or lung disease, or a pregnancy. There's no safety evidence for these groups, so our suggestion is not to use a plate if any applies unless your own team says it's fine.
Trials excluded people with pacemakers. Our pacemaker guide covers electrical interference, not vibration: "most gym equipment shouldn't cause problems". Our suggestion: with a pacemaker, defibrillator, cochlear implant or joint replacement, don't use a plate unless your device clinic or surgeon says so.
Trials excluded people with a recent clot or a high risk of one. Our suggestion: after a deep vein thrombosis or a clot in the lungs, don't use a plate until your clinician says so.
We found no study. Trials excluded pregnant women, and the Health and Safety Executive lists being "exposed to vibration" among the work risks that may need extra control measures for pregnant workers. Our suggestion: don't use a vibration plate in pregnancy.
Speak to a GP first if you haven't exercised for some time, or if you have a medical condition or concerns. Get advice first, too, if you have a health problem, an injury or symptoms, have recently had a heart attack or an operation, or are pregnant or have recently given birth.
Our suggestion, from the trial exclusions: wait until your surgical team clears you, and after a joint replacement, follow the Royal Osteoporosis Society's line above.
You have had a spinal fracture or several low-trauma fractures: see a physiotherapist, at least at the start.
The Royal Osteoporosis Society says a plate may not suit you if you've had spinal fractures or many fractures.
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If you have a heart condition, follow your cardiac team's advice on how hard to work, and stop for the warning signs above. People with long-term conditions may wish to ask their specialist before starting. With uncontrolled high blood pressure, avoid straining against a held breath; the high blood pressure guide has more.
If you get chest pain or pressure, feel faint or dizzy, are unusually breathless, or your heart races or beats irregularly during exercise, as our plans advise.
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For chest pain that comes on suddenly and doesn't go away, feels tight or like squeezing, spreads to your arms, neck, jaw, stomach or back, or comes with sweating, feeling sick, light-headedness or breathlessness; severe difficulty breathing; someone who faints while exercising; palpitations that don't go away, or come with chest pain, shortness of breath or feeling faint; or a headache that starts suddenly and is extremely painful, especially while lifting or straining, or comes with numbness or weakness, difficulty speaking or loss of vision. The NHS says a bleed on the brain may be more likely when lifting something heavy. Don't drive yourself to A&E.
Call NHS 111 (in the US, your doctor or an urgent care centre) if you're suddenly more short of breath than usual, or have chest pain with feeling sick or a heartbeat that races, skips or flutters.
Ask for an urgent GP appointment or get help from NHS 111 for a headache that's triggered or made worse by coughing, sneezing, bending down or exercising. In the US, contact your doctor or urgent care.
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Stop the plate, hold the rail and step off carefully (our suggestion).
See a GP after any faint, and if you keep feeling light-headed after slowing down gradually, or dizziness keeps coming back.
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Stop straight away if you feel any pain or become unwell, the NHS says, and contact 111 if your symptoms worry you or don't go away.
A dull ache in your muscles for a day or two after something new is normal. Joint pain that's sharp, gets worse during a set or lingers into the next day means switching to the easier option, and seeing a GP or physiotherapist if it carries on (our plans' rule). Our muscle soreness guide has more.
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These were the commonest side effects in trials. Our suggestion: lower the setting or shorten the bouts, and stop using the plate if a symptom doesn't settle after the session.
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Also call 999 for pain and swelling in one leg with breathlessness or chest pain: it can be a blood clot that has reached the lungs.
Same day (urgent GP appointment or NHS 111): throbbing pain in one leg (rarely both), usually the calf or thigh; swelling in one leg (rarely both); red, blue or darkened skin around the painful area, which may be harder to see on brown or black skin; or swollen veins. This can be a deep vein thrombosis (DVT). It is more likely after surgery, a hospital stay, 3 or more days in bed, a journey of over 4 hours, pregnancy or a recent birth, cancer, a previous clot, or oestrogen-containing contraception or HRT.
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Call 999 or go to A&E: loss of feeling or numbness around the genitals or bottom, new trouble peeing or controlling your bladder or bowels, changes in genital sensation during sex or problems with erections or orgasm, or pain, tingling, weakness or numbness in both legs. These are signs of cauda equina syndrome, which needs treating in hospital urgently. Don't drive yourself.
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Same day (GP or NHS 111): back pain and you feel hot, cold, shivery or generally unwell, or severe pain that starts suddenly or is getting worse quickly.
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Call 999 or go to A&E: leg pain with numbness around the genitals or bottom, new trouble starting or controlling peeing, not knowing when you need to poo or losing control of it, sciatica in both legs, or weakness or numbness in both legs that is severe or getting worse. These can be signs of cauda equina syndrome, which needs treating in hospital as soon as possible.
Pain, tingling or numbness spreading below the knee that isn't settling after a few weeks, is getting worse or stops your normal activities: see a GP.
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Sudden new back pain after a minor fall, lift, cough or sneeze, from 50 or past the menopause, or if you take long-term steroid tablets; or height loss, a curved spine or a change in posture: see a GP. It can be a spinal fracture.
Unexplained back pain with muscle spasms, loss of height, or a curved spine or change in posture: a possible osteoporotic spinal fracture, more likely with older age or long-term steroid tablets.
Go to A&E (accident and emergency) if you've injured your knee and it has changed shape, it becomes very swollen very quickly, you felt a pop or snap, you can see bone sticking out, or it's bleeding heavily. Don't drive yourself: ask someone to take you, or call 999 if the pain means you can't move your leg to get there.
Get advice from NHS 111 now: you cannot move the knee or put any weight on it, or it is very painful, badly swollen or has changed shape.
You hurt your knee and cannot take 4 steps, or you are 55 or over and have injured it: get it checked the same day for a broken bone.
Get advice from NHS 111 now: the knee locks, gives way or clicks painfully. Painless clicking is normal.
See a GP: If knee pain doesn't improve within a few weeks.
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Call 999 if someone has been knocked out and hasn't woken up, can't stay awake, has a fit, has new numbness or weakness, or has problems with their vision, speech, walking or balance. Get help from NHS 111 after a head injury if they're being sick, feel dizzy, or take medicine that thins the blood, as the NHS advises.
A lump in the groin, or groin pain with coughing or straining (a possible hernia).
Get help from NHS 111 if you have a hernia (a lump in the groin or tummy) and pain in or around it, a bloated tummy, you feel sick or are being sick, you're vomiting blood or your vomit looks like coffee grounds, you're constipated, you have a high temperature or feel hot, cold or shivery, or you've suddenly become confused.
Call 999 or go to A&E now if you have a femoral hernia (a small lump at the top of the thigh, in the groin) and very bad tummy pain, you feel sick or are being sick, you cannot fart or poo, you have a high temperature or feel hot, cold or shivery, or you've suddenly become confused. It may be strangulated, which is an emergency. Don't drive yourself.
It sends far more vibration to your head. Keep your knees bent in a half squat.
Higher settings send more to your head, with no evidence of more benefit. Start at the lowest.
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Many settings exceed workplace exposure limits within minutes. Keep to about 10 minutes of vibration (our suggestion).
Leave them out at first (our suggestion): no study has tested their safety, and they bring the vibration closer to your head.
Feeling sick is a reported side effect. If it happens, use the plate at another time or stop.
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Strength training builds more strength, and balance exercise prevents falls with stronger evidence.
On its own a plate didn't change weight or fat across 20 trials; in people with overweight or obesity it took about 1 kg of fat off, "not clinically significant", with no change in weight.
We found no trial of plates for lymph flow, lymphoedema or lipoedema. Blood flow rises briefly, and any exercise that works your muscles moves lymph.
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Against the same exercise without vibration, a plate added little, and strength training built more strength.
The largest trials found no effect, and the UK osteoporosis guideline says vibration "does not increase BMD".
The one plate trial found no change in measurements or body contour.
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There's no evidence that more helps, and higher settings send more vibration to your head and exceed workplace limits sooner.
Trials left out many groups, and the Royal Osteoporosis Society lists people for whom it "will not be suitable".
It shakes you about 20 to 50 times a second, and your leg muscles tense by reflex to keep you steady. It can improve leg strength and balance a little if you do no other exercise, but in trials it added little to the same exercises done without vibration.
Stand with your feet hip-width apart and your knees bent in a half squat, start at the lowest setting, and do 30 to 60 seconds at a time with a rest between. Build from about 5 to 10 minutes in all, 2 or 3 times a week, and never stand on it with straight knees.
In trials, sessions had about 6 to 20 minutes of vibration in short bouts. We suggest about 10 minutes and under 15 minutes a day, because many settings exceed workplace exposure limits and there's no sign that longer helps.
Not on their own: across 20 trials, a plate alone didn't change body weight or fat. With a diet, it helped about as much as other exercise in one small trial.
We found no trial showing that a plate drains lymph or helps lymphoedema. Lymph moves whenever your muscles work, so walking, strength work and moving your legs do the same job.
Not for bone density: the largest trials found no gain, and the UK osteoporosis guideline says vibration doesn't increase it. It may reduce falls a little, but strength and balance exercise has stronger evidence, and the Royal Osteoporosis Society says it may not suit people with spinal or many fractures.
Bent. A half squat soaks up most of the vibration before it reaches your head, and standing with straight knees is the position trials and reviews warn against.
Usually mild: itchy, red lower legs, leg, knee or back aches, numbness, feeling sick or a headache. No review reported a serious one. Stop if you feel dizzy, faint or unwell.
People with heart or blood vessel disease, dizziness or inner ear problems, a joint replacement or cochlear implants, in the Royal Osteoporosis Society's words. Trials also left out anyone with a pacemaker, epilepsy, a recent clot, a hernia, kidney or gall stones, lens implants, recent surgery or a pregnancy.
We'd say no. No study has tested it, trials left pregnant women out, and the Health and Safety Executive counts vibration among the risks to manage for pregnant workers.
They can improve leg strength and balance against doing nothing, and may cut falls a little in people over 50. Strength and balance exercise does more, and a plate isn't suitable for everyone, so check the list of who shouldn't use one first.
Only if it gets you doing something you otherwise wouldn't. For bone, falls, strength and weight, the exercises in our strength, balance and bone guides do the same jobs with stronger evidence.
Exercise education, not a personal prescription, and clinical review of these guides is pending. Check with a GP before starting hard training if you have a heart condition, chest pain, dizziness or breathlessness when active, and stop for sharp or increasing pain. Health disclaimer.
