4. Discussion
HEAT
Significant pretest and posttest differences in flexibility were observed in the WBV and WBV plus heat therapy groups. In other words, both the WBV groups improved their flexibility, muscle strength, and balanced functional performance. One theory suggests that vibration exercise promotes the neurotransmission characteristics of γ-aminobutyric acid as well as muscle spindle sensitivity, which stimulates more motor neurons [No significant differences in muscle strength were observed in the heat therapy alone and control groups. This finding does not align with previous studies [The WBV and WBV plus heat therapy groups significantly improved their muscle strength. This finding agrees with previous studies (41 °C) (41 °C, 60 min) [The WBV and WBV plus heat therapy groups significantly improved with balance abilities. This finding agrees with previous studies [This study features the first major study to examine the combination of WBV plus heat training, and found that heat does indeed enhance the effect of exercise. The limitation of this study is that it is challenging to encourage non-exercising individuals to maintain exercise for three months, hence, the sample size remained small.