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The impact of whole-hand vibration exposure on the sense of angular position about the wrist joint

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Abstract

Objectives: The purpose of this research is to determine the impact of whole-hand vibration on the capacity of subjects to identify previously presented positions of the hand in both wrist flexion and extension. Methods: In each movement direction, targets of 15 or 30° were presented with an imposed passive movement from the start position. During the second imposed movement, subjects were required to identify when the target position had been reached. For the vibration condition, 15 s of whole-hand vibration exposure was repeated immediately prior to each target position trial. Proprioceptive capacity was assessed by comparing the identified angular position with the reference position–angular distance expressed in terms of absolute error (AE), constant error (CE), and variable error (VE). Results: For three of the four target positions (15 and 30° flexion and 15° extension), the absolute, constant, and VEs of target identification were insensitive to vibration, whereas for the 30° extension target, both the absolute and CE were significantly different before and after the vibration application, showing the subjects overshooting previously presented target position. All three error measures were larger for the long targets than the short targets. Conclusions: Short-duration exposure to whole-hand vibration is insufficient to compromise post-vibration position sense in the wrist joint, except near the end range of joint movement in wrist extension. Complement contribution of different proprioceptive receptors (muscle, joint, and skin receptors) seems to be crucial for accuracy to reproduce passive movements, since the capacity of any individual class of receptor to deliver information about movement and position of the limbs is limited.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Swedish Agency for Innovation Systems (VINNOVA). Special thanks are due to Dr. Uwe Windhorst for his valuable scientific comments and English language improvements of the text. We are most grateful to Lars Brundin for valuable technical assistance with mechanical and electrical engineering issues.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Musculoskeletal Research, University of Gävle, Petrus Laestadius väg, Box 7629, 907 13, Umeå, Sweden

    Sasa Radovanovic, Scott Jason Day & Håkan Johansson

  2. Laboratory for Neurophysiology, Institute for Medical Research, PO Box 102, 11129, Belgrade, Serbia & Montenegro

    Sasa Radovanovic

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  1. Sasa Radovanovic
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  2. Scott Jason Day
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  3. Håkan Johansson
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Correspondence to Sasa Radovanovic.

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Radovanovic, S., Day, S.J. & Johansson, H. The impact of whole-hand vibration exposure on the sense of angular position about the wrist joint. Int Arch Occup Environ Health 79, 153–160 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00420-005-0039-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00420-005-0039-6

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