Researchers: Whole Body Vibration Can Be As Good As Regular Exercise

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- It looks like it may be time to shake up that exercise routine.

A new study published this week in the journal Endocrinology finds body vibration machines can actually help people shake their way to better health.

Using mice, researchers investigated "whole body vibrations," also known as WBV, and found that it showed similar benefits as regular exercise.

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"Our study is the first to show that whole-body vibration may be just as effective as exercise at combating some of the negative consequences of obesity and diabetes. While WBV did not fully address the defects in bone mass of the obese mice in our study, it did increase global bone formation, suggesting longer-term treatments could hold promise for preventing bone loss as well," said Meghan E. McGee-Lawrence, Ph.D, one of the lead researchers.

Researchers found the machine mimicked the muscle and bone health benefits of traditional exercise.

But that doesn't mean it's okay to cut out regular exercise.

McGee-Lawrence added, "because our study was conducted in mice, this idea needs to be rigorously tested in humans to see if the results would be applicable to people."