The effect of different warming methods on sensory nerve conduction velocity in shipyard workers occupationally exposed to hand–arm vibration

Cherniack, Martin G.; Brammer, Anthony J.; Lundström, Ronnie; Morse, Tim; Neely, Gregory; Nilsson, Tohr; Peterson, Donald R.; Toppila, Esko; Warren, Nicholas; Diva, Ulysses; Croteau, Marc; Dussetschleger, Jeffrey

doi:10.1007/s00420-007-0299-4

Cited by 7 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…Vibration white finger and slowed NCV can occur independently in forestry workers 2. In shipyard workers, slowed sensory NCV in the hand can be increased in some nerve segments by increasing finger skin temperature systemically with exercise 6. This reversal suggests that the nerve conduction pathology involves vascular insufficiency, because raising central body temperature, as occurs during exercise, increases blood flow and temperature in the extremities 15.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Persistent reduction of conduction velocity and myelinated axon damage in vibrated rat tail nerves

et al. 2009

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Prolonged hand-transmitted vibration exposure in the workplace has been recognized for almost a century to cause neurodegenerative and vasospastic disease. Persistence of the diseased state for years after cessation of tool use is of grave concern. To understand persistence of vibration injury, the present study examined recovery of nerve conduction velocity and structural damage of myelinated axons in a rat tail vibration model. Both 7 and 14 days of vibration (4 h/day) decreased conduction velocity. The decrease correlated directly with the increased percentage of disrupted myelinated axons. The total number of myelinated axons was unchanged. During 2 months of recovery, conduction velocity returned to control level after 7-day vibration but remained decreased after 14-day vibration. The rat tail model provides insight into understanding the persistence of neural deficits in hand-arm vibration syndrome.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Persistent reduction of conduction velocity and myelinated axon damage in vibrated rat tail nerves

et al. 2009

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“…This was obvious in the study of Cherniack et al[8], who reported that the significant differences in digital sensory conduction velocities between vibration-exposed and non-exposed workers, which had been observed after segmental cutaneous warming, were eliminated after systemic warming with a bicycle ergometer test. Moreover, the strong association between increased skin temperature and faster sensory conduction velocities, which had been observed after segmental cutaneous warming, was largely eliminated for both digital and palmar anatomic segments after systemic warming.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…On the other hand, Lander et al found that median and ulnar neuropathies proximal to the hand are more common than digital neuropathies in hand-arm vibration exposed workers with neurological symptoms [6]. However, in a 17-year prospective study of industrial workers, Nathan et al[7] reported that workplace factors, including managing vibratory tools, appeared to bear an uncertain relationship to carpal tunnel syndrome and Cherniack et al [8] reported that the significant differences in digital sensory conduction velocities between vibration-exposed and non-exposed workers were eliminated after systemic warming.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nerve conduction in relation to vibration exposure - a non-positive cohort study

Sandén

Jönsson

Wallin

et al. 2010

J Occup Med Toxicol

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BackgroundPeripheral neuropathy is one of the principal clinical disorders in workers with hand-arm vibration syndrome. Electrophysiological studies aimed at defining the nature of the injury have provided conflicting results. One reason for this lack of consistency might be the sparsity of published longitudinal etiological studies with both good assessment of exposure and a well-defined measure of disease. Against this background we measured conduction velocities in the hand after having assessed vibration exposure over 21 years in a cohort of manual workers.MethodsThe study group consisted of 155 male office and manual workers at an engineering plant that manufactured pulp and paper machinery. The study has a longitudinal design regarding exposure assessment and a cross-sectional design regarding the outcome of nerve conduction. Hand-arm vibration dose was calculated as the product of self-reported occupational exposure, collected by questionnaire and interviews, and the measured or estimated hand-arm vibration exposure in 1987, 1992, 1997, 2002, and 2008. Distal motor latencies in median and ulnar nerves and sensory nerve conduction over the carpal tunnel and the finger-palm segments in the median nerve were measured in 2008. Before the nerve conduction measurement, the subjects were systemically warmed by a bicycle ergometer test.ResultsThere were no differences in distal latencies between subjects exposed to hand-arm vibration and unexposed subjects, neither in the sensory conduction latencies of the median nerve, nor in the motor conduction latencies of the median and ulnar nerves. Seven subjects (9%) in the exposed group and three subjects (12%) in the unexposed group had both pathological sensory nerve conduction at the wrist and symptoms suggestive of carpal tunnel syndrome.ConclusionNerve conduction measurements of peripheral hand nerves revealed no exposure-response association between hand-arm vibration exposure and distal neuropathy of the large myelinated fibers in a cohort of male office and manual workers.

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“…The abnormalities, independent of clinical symptoms of entrapment, extended from a distally reduced sensory nerve conduction localized to the digits [49,50] to signs of median and ulnar neuropathies proximal to the hand as well as an association with CTS [51-53]. It is important that the electrophysiological examination is done properly [54-56]. Examination of fractionated nerve conduction of the median nerve across the carpal tunnel [14] in vibration-exposed subjects has revealed a bimodal velocity distribution; thus, one group of patients had a significant reduction in conduction velocity, similar to that seen in idiopathic carpal tunnel syndrome, while another group had no signs of nerve compression at the carpal tunnel, suggesting more distal dysfunction at the level of palm or finger, or at the receptor level [9].…”

Section: Electrophysiological Changes In Havs and Ctsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Low myelinated nerve-fibre density may lead to symptoms associated with nerve entrapment in vibration-induced neuropathy

Dahlin

Sandén

Dahlin

et al. 2014

J Occup Med Toxicol

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Prolonged exposure to hand-held vibrating tools may cause a hand-arm vibration syndrome (HAVS), sometimes with individual susceptibility. The neurological symptoms seen in HAVS are similar to symptoms seen in patients with carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) and there is a strong relationship between CTS and the use of vibrating tools. Vibration exposure to the hand is known to induce demyelination of nerve fibres and to reduce the density of myelinated nerve fibres in the nerve trunks. In view of current knowledge regarding the clinical effects of low nerve-fibre density in patients with neuropathies of varying aetiologies, such as diabetes, and that such a low density may lead to nerve entrapment symptoms, a reduction in myelinated nerve fibres may be a key factor behind the symptoms also seen in patients with HAVS and CTS. Furthermore, a reduced nerve-fibre density may result in a changed afferent signal pattern, resulting in turn in alterations in the brain, further prompting the symptoms seen in patients with HAVS and CTS. We conclude that a low nerve-fibre density lead to symptoms associated with nerve entrapment, such as CTS, in some patients with HAVS.

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The effect of different warming methods on sensory nerve conduction velocity in shipyard workers occupationally exposed to hand–arm vibration

Cited by 7 publications

References 36 publications

Persistent reduction of conduction velocity and myelinated axon damage in vibrated rat tail nerves

Persistent reduction of conduction velocity and myelinated axon damage in vibrated rat tail nerves

Nerve conduction in relation to vibration exposure - a non-positive cohort study

Low myelinated nerve-fibre density may lead to symptoms associated with nerve entrapment in vibration-induced neuropathy

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