Gustav Zander

The first vibration exercise machine was a device used by early Greeks. This device, resembling a wooden bow, was composed of a wooden handle covered with cloth. It was developed to rapidly pull the bow back and forth over an injured area, creating vibrations that increased blood circulation and elevated HGH (Human Growth Hormone) levels in the affected area, thereby accelerating the healing process.

Additionally, this vibration therapy improved lymphatic drainage, removing toxins and pus from the area, making the body’s self-healing process more effective.

Doctors at that time may not have fully understood why this treatment was effective, but they knew that it worked, and that patients who received this therapy could return to the battlefield more quickly. For this reason, physicians made significant contributions to the war efforts of that time and were respected for their work.

These Greek doctors laid the foundation for modern medicine and are considered pioneers of today’s whole-body vibration therapy. Much of the medical knowledge we have today stems from the contributions made by the ancient Greeks to medicine and human health.

Many years later, in 1867, a Russian physician and inventor named Gustav Zander developed a device that used weights and pulleys to generate vibrations. This device was used for therapeutic purposes. In 1895, Dr. John Harvey Kellogg introduced vibration therapy into health care using a vibrating chair he had developed. Dr. Kellogg claimed that this vibrating chair could improve blood circulation and relieve constipation. Additionally, he developed a chamber using light bulbs to promote blood circulation.

Later, doctors in the Russian space program discovered that astronauts were experiencing bone loss and fractures at a much younger age than normal. To address this, they began using vibration therapy, and to this day, NASA continues to use vibration therapy to prevent bone loss in astronauts.

As the century changed, Italian physiologist Carmelo Bosco began research for private machine manufacturers, leading the development of the first modern vibration exercise machine. Bosco was a leading sports physiologist in Italy and worked as a researcher at the Sports Biology Laboratory at Jyvaskyla University in Finland, as well as the director of the Biomechanics and Physiology Laboratory at the Kuortane Sports Institute. He published over 200 scientific papers, focusing on muscle mechanics, mechanical force measurements, and vibration as a training method.

In the early 1980s, Bosco developed a series of tests known as the “Bosco Tests,” now used globally, through his research on muscle mechanics and the effects of pre-stretching. Based on these findings, he developed the EgoJump system, an innovative non-invasive system for measuring power output and muscle activity. He later introduced the Ergo-Power and Muscle-Lab systems.

While continuing to teach in Finland, Bosco became a full professor at Semmelweis University in Budapest, where he collaborated with Atko Viru on hormone and exercise research. His final major research focus was on vibration, which led to the use of Neuromuscular Mechanical Stimulation (NEMES) to enhance strength and health.

Dr John Harvey Kellogg