Vibrating the Achilles and patellar (knee) tendons for 10 minutes before a short cycling task helped volunteers generate more power and reach higher heart rates without reporting greater exertion, according to a Université de Montréal-led study that examined how the brain interprets effort.
A research team led by Benjamin Pageaux, a professor at Université de Montréal’s School of Kinesiology and Physical Activity Sciences, reported evidence that a brief bout of tendon vibration before exercise can change how hard cycling feels.
Working with researchers from Université Savoie Mont Blanc in France, the group tested a wearable vibrating device in laboratory sessions on a stationary bicycle. Each volunteer completed two conditions: a cycling bout preceded by tendon vibration and a comparable bout without vibration.
In the vibration condition, the device was strapped to the Achilles and patellar (knee) tendons and activated for 10 minutes before participants began cycling. Volunteers then cycled for three minutes at an effort level they perceived as either “moderate” or “intense,” adjusting their pace to match the requested intensity.
In the sessions that followed vibration, participants produced higher power output and reached higher heart rates than in the non-vibration condition, while reporting a similar level of perceived effort. The researchers said the pattern is consistent with a mismatch between the body’s physiological strain and the brain’s subjective interpretation of how hard the work feels.
Pageaux said the biological mechanism remains under investigation but outlined several hypotheses. “Depending on the amplitude and frequency of the vibration, we can either excite or inhibit neurons in the spinal cord,” he said. “Also, prolonged vibration changes the reactivity of the neuromuscular spindles and alters the signal sent to the brain.”
The research was published in the Journal of Sport and Health Science in 2025. Pageaux stressed that the results so far come from a short laboratory protocol rather than real-world endurance events: “It hasn’t been tested in a marathon, only during a short, three-minute cycling exercise,” he said.
The team’s next steps include using electroencephalography and magnetic resonance imaging to examine how brain activity changes during exercise after tendon vibration. They also plan to study how pain and fatigue can increase perceived effort.
Researchers say understanding — and potentially reducing — perceived effort could matter for exercise adherence, because the subjective feeling of strain varies widely among individuals and can influence whether people continue physical activity over time.
