Electromyostimulation and whole-body vibration effects in elder sarcopenic patients

Background. Sarcopenia is a progressive and generalized loss of the skeletal muscle mass and function associated to aging. Among the different possible practical approaches, the Electromyostimulation (EMS) and the whole-body vibration (WBV) were proposed. The aim of this review is to synthetize the most up-to-date evidence behind the use of this therapeutic approaches. Methods. A systematic review and Meta-Analyses of the randomized clinical trials (RCTs) present in the literature was performed. The focus was on use of WBV and EMS in sarcopenic human subjects. Results. Whole Body Vibration seems to be an effective alternative to other exercise and in particular resistance training in sarcopenic subjects. All the studies involved in our systematic review reported several muscle benefits, both locally and overall in the body of the patients involved. The use of WB-EMS and the consequent full body involvement is interesting and promising. In all the included RCTs several primary and secondary outcomes were evaluated: from local to overall muscle quality, size and performance, fat distribution and strength parameters Conclusion. The EMS and WBV seems to be an effective and safe solution for sarcopenia. They should be considered in elder sarcopenic patients among the others possible approaches.