An Acute Bout of Whole-Body Vibration Does Not Improve Jumping Performance in Those With Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction.

Context: Individuals with anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) often fail to return to their previous level of sport performance. Although multifaceted, this inability to regain preinjury performance may be influenced by impaired plyometric ability attributable to chronic quadriceps dysfunction. Whole-body vibration (WBV) acutely improves quadriceps function and biomechanics after ACLR, but its effects on jumping performance outcomes such as jump height, the reactive strength index (RSI), and knee work and power are unknown.

Objective: To evaluate the acute effects of WBV on measures of jumping performance in those with ACLR.

Design: Crossover study design.

Setting: Research laboratory.

Patients or other participants: Thirty-six individuals with primary, unilateral ACLR.

Intervention(s): Participants stood on a WBV platform in a mini-squat position while vibration or no vibration (control) was applied during six 60-second bouts with 2 minutes of rest between bouts.

Main outcome measure(s): Double-leg jumping tasks were completed preintervention and postintervention (WBV or control) and consisted of jumping off a 30-cm box to 2 force plates half the participant's height away. The jumping task required participants to maximally jump vertically upon striking the force plates.

Results: Whole-body vibration did not produce significant improvements in any of the study outcomes (ie, jump height, RSI, and knee work and power) in either limb (P = .053-.839).

Conclusions: These results suggest that a single bout of WBV is insufficient for improving jumping performance in individuals with ACLR. As such, using WBV to acutely improve jumping performance post-ACLR is likely not warranted. Future research should evaluate the effects of repeated exposure to WBV in combination with other plyometric interventions on jumping performance.