1) You mentioned the efficacy of vibration in regards to Hertz, 26-30 being optimum. Does the research show it to be a 'bell curve', too high or too low does nothing? More familiar with the PowerPlate, I don't own one, but they do have higher frequencies. Also, they have a mat you can put on top, didn't notice that from the pics or video with the Vibraflex.

-----Yes, Bosco's EMG study came out exactly like a bell curve. I know there are at times issues in posting independent research on a pay Website, but feel free to e-mail me, and I will forward you the graph that is in Bosco's study. I won't go as far as saying the bell curve suggests that too high or too low frequencies do nothing. What I do think it that it does suggest that the best muscle contractions occured when the frequency was in the mid to high 20s. There are still 40-50 contractions occuring per second @ 40-50 Hz, but the force of contractions is meager compared to the 20-30 Hz. Also keep this in mind. The amount of time it takes for the afferent and efferent sides of the myotatic reflex arc take roughly 40-50 ms. How long does it take for the reflex arc to be established in full in using 25-30 Hz on the Vibraflex? 40-50 ms. I think that is very meaningful when we are tying our claims to the legitimacy of the Tonic Vibratory Reflex.

**Sorry, the bottom units represent 'time'. I couldn't quite get it all in.**

As for the mat, the Vibraflex does not come with one, however, we will occasionally use a yoga mat or one of the thinner Airex products. The mat is simply another device that vertical platforms use to dampen the uncomfortable head and eye effects. However, it also lessens the amount of magnitude or G-forces imparted as well, so you are never really quite sure what magnitude you are getting with a mat because the mass of the person will affect the compliance of the mat and its transmission qualities. We will use the mat when elbows and knees need to be in contact with the platform with planks and birdogs. The angled bony surface is obviously not appropriate for a hard platform, so we try to get our affects this way. The vibraflex was meant to be stood on, so a mat was never expected to be used. I don't think there is a penalty for expanding the uses as long as the results are safe and efficacious.

2) Didn't quite get how the vibration creates a hyper-gravity environment? Is that then what allows for greater acceleration? Thanks, just a new concept to me but very interesting.

-----Good question, as this may have been something we glossed over or took for granted on the call. The Earth has a reliable, constant acceleration all around us. You may want to call it the Earth's gravitational pull. It is always 9.8 m/s2. There are multiple and complicated equations (some physicists may argue that there are 12 different ones) that use the acceleration of Earth to calculate what a given mass weighs on Earth.

Acceleration is defined as a change in velocity over time. As the Vibraflex platform increases its rate of speed (velocity) through the Hertz (cycles per second) variable, acceleration is increased for any given moment of time. Since anything more than 9.8 m/s2 would be considered hypergravity, as we increase frequency or amplitude of the Vibraflex, we would be creating a hyper-gravity environment.

It is the method of how the environment establishes increased acceleration is how the terminology of Whole-Body Vibration comes about. It is the platform that is vibrating, not the person. Other things happen physiologically as a result of the vibration. The platform creates an acceleration. The individual is not accelerating.

3) Do you have more info on your early stage rehab? I like the idea of squatting early when there is no meniscal pathology, but may be hard to convince surgeons. Was it Children's Hospital of Philadelphia that you got that information?

----Yes, the protocols from the young ladies we have seen from the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia expect a 1-leg squat to 70 degrees by 4 weeks. The time frame for discharging the brace is patient-specific to normal range of motion and normal gait. This applies to menisectomy+ACL, so meniscal pathology is not a rule out here. I am not concerned with convincing surgeons of anything. We work for our patients and clients, not the surgeons.

Keep in mind, we are qualifying our loaded patterns extensively such as 250 perfect PVC pipe overhead squats with an affected side RNT. Grooving the motor pattern under high fatigue is important to me. Technique and progression overrule any protocol or zealous attempts to train hard. When you have pain-free, perfect technique, and both evidenced through progression, I think you can defend this approach.

4) You guys didn't talk too much about using it for performance gains. Do you use it mostly to correct movement, therefore the athlete will squat better, run with better mechanics, etc. I've heard of athletes doing plyos and lifting on them, is that possible?

-----Yes, indeed it is very possible to do plyos and lifting on them. It is also quite foolish with enormous risk, lifting more than plyometrics. First of all, there is not 1 study that I am aware of that supports these training methods. Just because lifting is good, and WBV is good doesn't mean lifting with WBV together is good. It's just some very unfortunate individuals trying to be sensational and create the "next best thing."

Consider what we spoke of when establishing that a hypergravity environment effectively changes what we "weigh." Our bodies and the plates and bars we clean and press weigh what they weigh because 9.8 m/s2 says that's what they weight. So when we are engaging at multiple Gs (1G = 9.8 m/s2), those masses effectively weigh much more. And the catch is that they feel like 1G loads because the brain awareness is diminished as hypergravity is read by the body through subcortical means - the spinal reflexes we spoke of. So if you bang out 5 cleans at 135, your brain doesn't realize it might be something far more strenuous. I think this is an awesome CNS fatigue that is very harmful for further training and again, this has no evidence to suggest it works.

Those individuals that claim amazing results are mainly high school programs where I would suggest almost any organized training program will appear successful given the low training ages. I can live with bodybars and weight vests, very low hyperloads, when variables have been maxed out. But olympic lifting and putting equipment on top of oversized platforms is not what WBV is about.

Plyometrics I feel a little bit better about in as much as we are managing bodyweight only. Because of the teeter-totter affect of the Vibraflex, the loading and unloading pattern that feels like double- or single-leg stance upon landing, never exceeds 1.3x body weight.

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