Can a vibrating belt fend off bone density loss?

An low-intensity vibrating belt approved by the Food and Drug Administration mimics some effects of exercise to help maintain bone density. Maria Fabrizio for NPR hide caption

Andrea Bloom, 59, of Pleasanton, Calif., learned she had osteopenia, or low bone density, after a bone density scan. "When I saw my results, it was pretty shocking because I was one-tenth of a point away from an osteoporosis diagnosis," she says.

More than 40 million adults in the United States aged 50 and older have osteopenia, which can progress to osteoporosis, leaving bones brittle and weak.

Bloom's doctor prescribed the Food and Drug Administration approved Osteoboost belt, a wearable device that delivers targeted vibrations to the spine and hips, approved for post-menopausal women with osteopenia. Now, every morning when she walks her dog, she straps it on. "It's a black belt that you wear around your hip area. And it's a very, very light vibration," says Bloom, who wears it about 30 minutes a day.

The device works by mimicking some effects of exercise. The low-magnitude vibrations produce mechanical signals similar to those generated when muscles contract, stimulating bone-building cells called osteoblasts.

"So for 30 minutes a day, when you wear the belt, you're stimulating those bone-building cells," says Dr. Pamela Peeke , chief medical officer for Osteoboost, who says she uses the device while she's on her elliptical, which she says gives her another "layer of stimulation."

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The science behind vibration therapy traces back to NASA-funded research. "The original vibration plate was developed through funding from NASA to come up with a therapy that astronauts could use in space to fend off the effects of zero gravity on bone loss," says Mike Jaasma, one of the Osteoboost's founders. "That sparked some of the early research into the effects of vibration."