Good Vibrations

Horse-canada.com - Full Article

Written by: Kimberly French

What is Vibration Plate Therapy, and does it work?

He’s known for inventing corn flakes and his penchant for healthy living, but Dr. John Harvey Kellogg was also the individual responsible for introducing a standing vibration plate in the United States nearly 120 years ago. Hailed by many as a little off-kilter for some of his stranger theories, Kellogg instituted a vibration chair and standing vibration plate for his sanitarium patients in Battle Creek, Michigan, in 1895 to alleviate or eradicate numerous maladies such as headaches, stomachaches, back pain, and constipation. He claimed the movement of the internal organs stimulated healing.

Contrary to popular belief, Kellogg wasn’t that far out in left field. Dr. Gustav Zander was the first individual to build exercise machines which incorporated vibration as a tool for physical therapy. He unveiled his creation as a World’s Fair exhibit in 1876 and 1878 and by 1900, his fitness centers – or Zander Institutes – were flourishing around the world. In fact, he is considered to be one of the pioneers of the modern health club.

There was also the 1896 article on the success of Dr. Zander’s technique in the Boston Medical and Surgical Journal. Physicians concurred with Kellogg’s notion that vibration was a catalyst for lymph to travel through the body at a swifter rate, which in turn allowed an injury to mend more completely and quickly. The doctors referred to this phenomenon as “respiration of the tissues through increased circulation...”

Read more here:
http://www.horse-canada.com/magazine_articles/good-vibrations/