The Study
Acute whole-body vibration as a recovery strategy did not alter the content of gluteus medius monocarboxylate-transporters, lactatemia, and acidosis induced by intense exercise in horses
This study tested if shaking horses on a vibrating platform helps them recover faster after running hard. It found no difference between shaking them and just letting them stand still. But it only tested one kind of shake on eight horses, so we can't say if all shaking helps or hurts—just that this one didn't work.
Analysis score
Maximum 90 for a randomized controlled trial.
Where the score came from
Scientists tested if vibrating a horse on a special platform after hard exercise helps it feel better and recover faster, like shaking a soda can to calm it down.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 518 / 100
Quality score
Participants are randomly assigned to treatment or control groups, minimizing bias. The gold standard for testing whether an intervention causes an effect.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1For horse owners, this means shaking your horse after a race won't help it recover faster than letting it walk or rest quietly.
- 2After hard exercise, all horses had high heart rate, heat, and lactic acid.
- 3Shaking them for 10 minutes didn't lower lactic acid or heat faster than just walking or standing still.
- 4MCT4 protein (a lactate transporter) dropped naturally 3–6 hours after exercise, no matter what recovery method was used.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
Frontiers in Veterinary Science
Year
2025
Authors
J. Carvalho, N.A.A. Sales, T. O. Littiere, G. B. Costa, C.M. Castro, Emanuel Elias Camolese Polisel, Juan B. Orsi, Gabriel Vieira Ramos, I. Santos, C. Gobatto, F. Manchado-Gobatto, Guilherme de Camargo Ferraz
Related Content
Claims (6)
Intense exercise raises hydrogen ion levels in muscles, causing a drop in pH that reduces muscle performance.
In horses, a 10-minute session of whole-body vibration at 32 to 76 Hz does not increase the removal of lactate from the blood or correct blood acidity after intense exercise, compared to walking on a treadmill or standing still.
Whole-body vibration does not change the levels of MCT1 and MCT4 proteins in the gluteus medius muscle of horses after intense exercise, and this means it does not affect how lactate moves between different types of muscle fibers.
In horses, the amount of MCT4 protein in the gluteus medius muscle drops significantly 3 and 6 hours after intense exercise, regardless of how the horse recovers.
After intense exercise, horses that walk on a treadmill to recover have a slower decrease in heart rate than horses that rest passively, indicating that active recovery maintains higher levels of sympathetic nervous system activity.
After intense exercise, horses that receive whole-body vibration recover their rectal temperature at the same rate as horses that rest passively or engage in active recovery.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.