Summary
A measuring method for the vibration perception threshold (VPT) of fingers has been developed. The VPTs of 118 and 149 professional forest workers were measured during a compulsory annual health examination in 1979 and 1983, respectively. Also the VPTs of eight pedestal grinders, who were suffering vibration-induced white finger (VWF), were measured in 1979 and 1983. The control group consisted of 20 research workers who had no vibration exposure in the past and no symptoms in their hands. The measuring system for VPT gave repeatable results. The frequency of the most sensitive VPT of vibration exposed workers alternated between 63 and 125 Hz instead of 125 Hz of subjects without vibration exposure. The VPT of the pedestal grinders and forest workers with decreased hand grip force and with vibration-induced white finger were significantly higher than those of the controls. The VPTs of the forest workers decreased slightly and that of the grinders increased from 1979 to 1983. In spite of long vibration exposure in the past and continuing lower level vibration exposure, the increased VPT of forest workers does not seem to be permanent.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Aatola S, Farkkila M, Korhonen O, Pyykkö I, Starck J (1985) Vibration detection threshold of lumberjacks. Fourth Int Symp Hand-Arm Vibration, May 6–8, 1985, Helsinki. Abstracts, Institute of Occupational Health, Helsinki, p 63
Aatola S, Starck J, Pyykkö I, Färkkilä M, Korhonen O (1986) Vibration detection threshold of lumberjacks. Second Joint Finnish-GDR Symp on Load and Strain of Central Regulation Processes, 3–4 June 1986, Helsinki, Finland, Extended Abstracts, Institute of Occupational Health, Finland, pp 156–160
Brammer AJ, Taylor W, Piercy JE (1986) Assessing the severity of the neurological component of the hand-arm vibration syndrome. Scand J Work Environ Health 12:428–431
Dyck PJ et al (1978) Introduction of automated systems to evaluate touch-pressure, vibration, and thermal sensation in man. Ann Neurol 4:502–510
Gescheider GA, O'Malley MJ, Verrillo RT (1983) Vibrotactile forward masking: evidence for channel independence. J Acoust Soc Am 74:474–485
Gescheider GA, Sklar BF, Van Doren CL, Verrillo RT (1985) Vibratactile forward masking: psychophysical evidence for a triplex theory of cutaneous mechanoreception. J Acoust Soc Am 78 (2):534–543
Goldberg JM, Lindblom U (1979) Standardised method of determining vibratory perception thresholds for diagnosis and screening in neurological investigation. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatr 42:793–803
Harada N, Matsumoto T (1982) Various function tests on the upper extremities and the vibration syndrome. In: Brammer AJ, Taylor W (eds) Vibration effects on the hand and arm in industry. John Wiley & Sons, New York, pp 71–76
Hayward RA, Griffin MJ (1986) Measures of vibrotactile sensitivity in persons exposed to hand-arm vibration. Scand J Work Environ Health 12:423–427
Hämäläinen H (1982) Tactile and vibrotactile sensibility of the human hand. University of Helsinki
International Organization for Standardization (1986) Mechanical vibration — guidelines for the measurement and the assessment of human exposure to hand-transmitted vibration. Geneva (ISO 5349)
Johansson RS, Lundström U, Lundström R (1982) Responses of mechanoreceptive afferent units in the glaborous skin in the human hand to sinusoidal skin displacement. Brain Res 244:17–25
Kakosy T, Szepesi L (1973) Effects of vibration exposure on the localization of Raynaud's phenomenon in chain saw operators. Work Environ Health 10:134–139
Lamore PJJ, Muijser H, Keemink CJ (1986) Envelope detection of amplitude-modulated high-frequency sinusoidal signals by skin mechanoreceptors. J Acoust Soc Am 79:1082–1085
Lindström I-M, Hagelthorn G, Bjerker N (1982) Vibration perception in persons not previously exposed to local vibration and in vibration-exposed to local vibration and in vibration-exposed workers. In: Brammer AJ, Taylor W (eds) Vibration effects on the hand and arm in industry. John Wiley & Sons, New York, pp 59–65
Lucas E (1970) Lesion of the peripheral nervous system due to vibration. Scand J Work Environ Health 7:67–79
Lundström R (1985) Effects of local vibration transmitted from ultrasonic devices on vibrotactile perception in the hands of therapists. Ergonomics 28:793–803
Lundström R (1986) Responses of mechanoreceptive afferent units in the glaborous skin of the human hand to vibration. Scand J Work Environ Health 12:413–416
Lundström R, Lindmark A (1982) Effects of local vibration on tactile perception in the hands of dentists. J Low Frequency Noise Vibration 1:1–11
Pelmear PL, Taylor W, Pearson JCG (1975) Clinical objective tests for vibration white finger. In: Taylor W, Pelmear PL (eds) Vibration white finger in industry. Academic Press, London, pp 53–81
Piercy JE, Brammer AJ, Taylor W (1986) Physiological noise and its influence on vibrotactile perception thresholds. Scand J Work Environ Health 12:417–419
Pyykkö I, Korhonen O, Färkkilä M, Starck J, Aatola S (1982) A longitudinal study of the vibration syndrome in Finnish forestry workers. In: Brammer AJ, Taylor W (eds) Vibration effects on the hand and arm in industry. Wiley & Sons, New York, pp 157–168
Saarnio H, Häkkinen V, Ignatius J (1979) Automatic measurement of vibratory sensitivity. In: Juvonen A, Tarvainen M (eds) Proc Third National Meeting on Biophysics and Medical Engineering in Finland, Lappeenranta, pp All/1-3
Seppäläinen AM, Starck J, Härkönen H (1986) High-frequency vibration and sensory nerves. Scand J Work Environ Health 12:420–422
Starck J, Färkkilä M, Aatola S, Pyykkö I, Korhonen O (1983) Vibration syndrome and vibraton in pedestal grinding. Br J Ind Med 40:426–433
Starck J (1984) High impulse acceleration levels in hand-held vibratory tools: an additional factor in hazards associated with the hand-arm vibration syndrome. Scand J Work Environ Health 10:171–178
Tadashi N, Kojima Y, Kaji H, Saito K (1986) Diagnostic method for vibration syndrome with social reference to finger skin temperature and vibratory sense threshold. Scand J Work Environ Health 12:251–253
Verrillo RT, Bolanowski Jr, SJ (1986) The effects of skin temperature on the psychophysical responses to vibraton on glabrous and hairy skin. J Acoust Soc Am 80:528–532
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Aatola, S., Färkkilä, M., Pyykkö, I. et al. Measuring method for vibration perception threshold of fingers and its application to vibration exposed workers. Int. Arch Occup Environ Heath 62, 239–242 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00379440
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00379440