Muscle tendon vibration revisited: Why tonic vibration reflex and kinaesthetic illusions matter

Muscle-tendon vibration (MTV) has long been employed in both experimental and clinical settings, and its interest as a neurorehabilitation tool continues to grow. Yet, two primary physiological responses elicited by MTV, the tonic vibration reflex (TVR) and the kinaesthetic illusion (KI), remain inconsistently described across studies. This raises a fundamental limitation: how can vibration-induced adaptations be interpreted when the underlying reflexive or perceptual contributions are unclear? In this topical review, we examine the key mechanisms driving these responses and clarify the conditions that shape their expression. We outline how sensory, attentional and motor contexts can transform the same vibratory-induced afferent into strikingly different physiological and behavioural effects. We also address how the variability in these responses - including the antagonist vibratory responses - may contribute to heterogeneous findings and blur the distinction between responders and non-responders to MTV. We conclude that reflexive or perceptual expression should ideally be systematically monitored, or at minimum that experimental conditions be explicitly reported, as their emergence reflects a configuration in which proprioceptive drive and sensorimotor integration are strongly engaged. By reframing TVR, KI and antagonist vibratory responses as informative physiological markers rather than confounds, this review provides a conceptual and methodological framework to improve the design, interpretation and reproducibility of future studies. This perspective may also support the refinement of MTV as a cost-effective and non-invasive neuromodulatory approach for health and performance applications.