Hand‑arm Vibration Effects on Performance, Tactile Acuity, and Temperature of Hand

Abstract

Effects of vibration appear as mechanical and psychological disorders, including stress reactions,
cognitive and movement disorders, problem in concentration and paying attention to the assigned
duties. The common signs and symptoms of hand‑arm vibration (HAV) in the fngers and hands
may appear as pins and needles feeling, tingling, numbness, and also the loss of fnger sensation
and dexterity. Laboratory Virtual Instrument Engineering Workbench programming software
designed for occupational vibrations measurement was used to calculate HAV acceleration. Hole
steadiness test is designed to measure involuntary movement of people. V‑Pieron test is designed
for one of the other aspects of the psycho motor phenomena of steadiness by moving the stylus
across a V‑form ruler. The two points test was an experiment of touch acuity, which used a caliper
by placing the two styli very close on the pad of fnger knuckles. The temperature of fnger skin is
also measured simultaneous to the above tests. Wilcoxon test indicated that a signifcant decrement
in hand steadiness occurred after gripping a vibrating handle for 2 min (P ≤ 0.003). Wilcoxon test
also represented a signifcant change in errors after gripping a grinder vibratory handle (P ≤ 0.003).
The differences at all of the knuckles were signifcant with a confdence interval percentage of
99%. There was a signifcant reduction in fnger skin temperature before and after exposure to
vibration (mean = 0.45°C, based on paired sample test). The obtained results considerably
demonstrated the relation between hand performance and vibrations due to gripping a grinder. It
can be concluded that an injury or accident may happen after exposure to vibrations for the fne
duties, in fast actions.