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I need to translate a phrase into German that should read "micro-vibration treatment" in English. It is a fairly recently developed medical treatment method, founded by, as I discovered, by an Austrian researcher (http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikrovibration), thus I am pretty sure "Mikrovibrationen" is the German word for "micro-vibrations".

The English term is used in various contexts (e.g. micro vibrations in vehicle engines). However, in this case I am interested only in the usage connected to biology, i.e. microscopic oscillations of tissues in warm-blooded mammals, incl. humans. The English word "microvibrations" is also being used like that, e.g. this paper.

I am faced with two questions though:

1) Which of the following translations for "micro-vibration treatment" (i.e. the actual process of using a medical device based on the principle of micro-vibrations to improve patients' health) looks more correct - a) Mikrovibrationsbehandlung b) Behandlung mittels Mikrovibrationen c) None of the above (any suggestions?)

2) Does "Mikrovibrationstherapie" as a translation for "micro-vibration therapy" (i.e. a more general term for the area of activities connected to using micro-vibrations for medical purposes) sound fine to a German ear?

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  • Thank you for that valuable additional information. Rather than in comments (which are volatile) it is better to edit your question to make sure all is at its place. For now I already did this.
    – Takkat
    Commented May 21, 2014 at 7:48

4 Answers 4

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I have no idea of micro-vibrations, but if such a therapy exists, it'd probably be called

Mikrovibrationsbehandlung

Mikrovibrationstherapie

Behandlung durch/mit Mikrovibrationen

Additionally, Mikrovibrationstherapie may also be the term for the broader field of activities in such an environment.

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I think "Mikrovibrationsbehandlung" would be fine but I never heard something about that so I can't tell you with 100 percent safety that it is the term for micro-vibration treatment. "Mikrovibrationstherapie" is - so do I think - used in that case: Ich habe in einer Zeitung etwas über eine neue Therapie namens Mikrovibrationstherapie gelesen. I've read something about a new therapy called micro-vibration therapy in a newspaper.

while "Mikrovibrationsbehandlung" is - so do I think- used in the following case: Ich have morgen einen Termin für eine Mikrovibrationsbehandlung. I've got an appointment for a micro-vibration treatment tomorrow.

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"Mikro-Vibrationsbehandlung" will work just fine.

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I think that

Mikrovibrationstherapie

is the best translation but Mikrovibrationsbehandlung is fine too.

To me (my personal perception) »...therapie« sounds more like healing of an illness while »...behandlung« sounds more like wellness, but in fact both mean the same.

Have an additional look at http://www.magiccosmetic.at/Behandlungen.html/Endospheres.html
Also:

Interesting: When I tried to google for "Mikrovibrationsbehandlung" I just found sites that contain the word "Mikrovibrationstherapie".

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  • No, they are definitely not synonymous. A treatment is a part of a therapy.
    – Twinkles
    Commented May 20, 2014 at 23:58
  • Therapie does not imply healing, e.g. AIDS-Therapie. It rather describes techniques or some action plan to counter adverse effects of a given condition on somebody's health (at least that would be my attempt at a definition of the term).
    – collapsar
    Commented May 21, 2014 at 9:26
  • I will agree with the above comments - as noted in the initial question, by "treatment" I meant the actual application of a device that produces micro-vibrations, and a broader context of recovery-stimulating measures by "therapy". My apologies if this wasn't communicated well enough. And yes, I do realize that these two words can often be used synonymously (merriam-webster.com/dictionary/therapy). P.S. I did conduct Google searches for both phrases before posting the question, and was confronted with the same results, which is exactly why I've decided to ask ;)
    – Andrii Shekhirev
    Commented May 21, 2014 at 13:20

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