The Effects of Whole-Body Vibration

ISBN-13: 9783540165842 / Angielski / Miękka / 1986 / 162 str.

Heinrich Dupuis; Georg Zerlett; H. E. Von Gierke

Opis

The observations made by Paracelsus concerning the dose-effect relationship of poison are generally just as applicable to health threatening vibration. With regard to kind, intensity, and duration of the vibration, the "dose" is decisive as to whether the conse quences are detrimental, unmeaningful, or tolerable with respect to health. This law of nature determines the tasks and goals of those whose aim is to safeguard health. Researchers worldwide have been occupying themselves with this many-faceted question for some time: how mechanical vibration affects the human organism and at what point damage occurs. If prevention in occupational medicine is to succeed, it is most important that the gaps in our present knowledge be closed, for if technical preventive measures are to be effective and preventive means in occupational medicine successful, they must be based on reliable and complete findings. Whenever many independent researchers have worked in a given field for a long period, a comprehensive intermediate as sessment is appropriate to evaluate the level achieved and the direction the research is going. In the area of hand-arm vibration, this evaluation has already been carried out, and the response aroused by this particular research report had led to a demand for a comparable evaluation of the research results on whole-body vibration. This report presents clearly and exhaustively the current status of international knowledge, as well as the questions that remain to be answered."

Spis treści

1. Introduction.- 2. Terminology and Definitions.- 3. Stress-Strain Concept in Whole-Body Vibration.- 4. Work-Related Stress from Whole-Body Vibration.- 5. Acute Effects of Mechanical Vibration.- 5.1 Biological Prevention and Control Mechanisms Against Mechanical Vibration.- 5.2 Biodynamic Reaction on Vibration.- 5.2.1 Models of the Human Body under Vibration.- 5.2.2 Vibration Behavior when Walking and Running.- 5.2.3 Vibration Behavior in Standing Posture.- 5.2.3.1 Vertical (z-Axis) Excitation.- 5.2.3.2 Horizontal (x-Axis, y-Axis) Excitation.- 5.2.4 Vibration Behavior in Reclining Posture.- 5.2.4.1 Vertical (x-Axis) Excitation.- 5.2.4.2 Horizontal (y-Axis, z-Axis) Excitation.- 5.2.5 Vibration Behavior in Sitting Posture.- 5.2.5.1 Vertical (z-Axis) Excitation.- 5.2.5.2 Horizontal (x-Axis, y-Axis) Excitation.- 5.2.6 Vibration Behavior of the Spinal Column.- 5.2.7 Vibration Behavior of Internal Organs.- 5.2.8 Vibration Behavior of the Eye.- 5.2.9 Review of the Resonance Frequencies of Various Parts of the Body.- 5.3 Changes in Physiological Functions.- 5.3.1 Muscle Activity.- 5.3.2 Heart-Circulatory Function.- 5.3.3 Respiratory Function.- 5.3.4 Vegetative and Biochemical Reactions.- 5.3.5 Sensory Function.- 5.3.5.1 Acoustic Perception.- 5.3.5.2 Equilibrium Regulation.- 5.3.5.3 Kinetosis.- 5.3.5.4 Visual Perception.- 5.4 Sensorimotor Performance.- 5.5 Subjective Perception.- 5.5.1 Vibration Perception and Vibration Sensation Memory.- 5.5.2 Vibration Perception in the Sitting and Standing Postures.- 5.5.3 Vibration Perception in Reclining Posture.- 6. Chronic Effects of Whole-Body Vibration.- 6.1 Methodological Problems.- 6.2 Work-Related Diseases in National and International Regulations.- 6.3 Vibration Effects on the Skeletal System in Animal Experiments.- 6.4 Epidemiological Research on Professional Groups Exposed to Vibration.- 6.4.1 Diseases of the Spinal Column.- 6.4.1.1 Tractor Drivers.- 6.4.1.2 Truck and Bus Drivers.- 6.4.1.3 Drivers of Earth-Moving Equipment.- 6.4.1.4 Railroad, Ship and Airplane Crews, and Employees in the Concrete Industry.- 6.4.1.5 Prevalence of Pathological Changes in the Spinal Column (Summary).- 6.4.1.6 An Occupational Medicine Appraisal of Changes in the Spinal Column Arising from Vibration Exposure.- 6.4.2 Digestive System Diseases.- 6.4.2.1 Tractor Drivers.- 6.4.2.2 Truck and Bus Drivers.- 6.4.2.3 Drivers of Earth-Moving Equipment.- 6.4.2.4 Employees in the Concrete Industry.- 6.4.2.5 Prevalence of Pathological Findings in the Digestive System (Summary).- 6.4.2.6 An Occupational Medicine Appraisal of Digestive Disorders Arising from Vibration Exposure.- 7. The Influence of Particular Modes of Vibration.- 7.1 Vibration Occurring Simultaneously in Several Directions.- 7.2 Mixtures of Periodic Vibration, Random Vibration and Vibration Containing Shocks.- 7.2.1 Mixtures of Periodic Vibration.- 7.2.2 Random Vibration.- 7.2.3 Vibration Containing Shocks.- 7.3 Rotational Vibration.- 7.4 Exposure Duration and Rest Pauses.- 8. Preventive Measures.- 8.1 Engineering Methods.- 8.2 Prevention by Work Organization.- 8.3 Personal Prevention.- 8.4 Prevention by Occupational Medicine.- 9. Laws, Regulations, Standards, and Guidelines for the Protection of Man against Mechanical Vibration.- 9.1 Occupational Diseases.- 9.2 Criteria for the Evaluation of Risk from Mechanical Vibration and the Establishment of Exposure Guidelines.- 9.3 Guidelines for the Measurement and Evaluation of Vibration.- 9.4 Medical Examinations of New Employees and Regular Health Check ups.- 9.5 Technical and Organizational Measures for Protection Against Mechanical Vibration.- 10. Summary and Conclusions.- References.- Medical Terminology.