A study of neurophysiological measurements and various function tests on workers occupationally exposed to vibration

Summary Seventy male air grinder operators and 72 age-matched control workers were examined. Both groups of workers worked in the warm climate (20°–33°C) of southern Taiwan. None of the workers had symptoms of white fingers. The investigation program comprised: (1) case history, (2) physical examination, (3) determination of maximal motor conduction velocity, proximal and distal sensory conduction velocity (NCV) of the median and ulnar nerves of the right upper extremity, (4) measurement of skin temperature, nail press test, pain threshold and vibratory sense threshold of the upper extremities, and (5) testing of the motor function. The dose-effect correlation between the NCV, various function tests and total operating time (TOT) was performed by multiple stepwise regression analyses. The regression analyses revealed a statistically significant correlation (dose/effect) between the six NCV, vibratory sense threshold, pain threshold and age, as well as TOT.