Can cutaneous vibration affect pain development? Testing the efficacy of a vibrating belt applied intermittently to the low back region during prolonged standing

Standing-induced low back pain (LBP) is becoming more common in the workplace and has been shown to develop in periods of as short as 2 h. The purpose of this study was to determine if vibration, an increasingly popular method of pain relief, applied intermittently (every 15 min) directly to the low back could alleviate pain developed during a 2-h period of standing. Two separate collection days were conducted (order randomized). During the control day, no vibration was applied during the 2 h of standing; on an experimental day, vibration was applied via a vibration belt in 3-min durations every 15 min for 2 h. During both data collections, perceived LBP was collected via a visual analogue scale every 15 min; on the experimental day LBP was collected just prior to and following each vibration bout. Force plate data were also collected to determine centre of pressure changed over time. LBP significantly increased over time on both collection days; however, on the vibration day LBP reported just prior to each vibration bout was significantly higher than that immediately following, suggesting a temporary relief of pain. However, this relief of pain was not sustained as the level of perceived LBP at the end of the 2 h on the control day was not significantly different from that on the vibration day. Decreases in anterior-posterior and medial-lateral centre of pressure movement were also observed during each bout of vibration compared to during the control day. In conclusion, while intermittent vibration applied to the low back appears to relieve LBP developed during standing, this relief is temporary.