Documents Raynaud's phenomenon 10 results

"Authors examined 51 tunnel-miners because of suspicion of hand-arm vibration syndrome. Vibration measurements were also performed on the drilling hammer used by the workers. The acceleration of the vibration exceeded 2.5–3.5 times the maximum allowable level according to the guideline ISO 5349. Symptoms and signs referring to hand-arm vibration syndrome were found in 42 cases. (82.3%). X-ray alterations of bones and joints were detected in 28 patients (54.9%). In addition of degenerative changes (25 cases; 49%) also aseptic necroses were rather frequent (8 cases; 15.7%). Vascular damage was shown in 27 patients (54.0%), but peripheral neurological injury in 18/37 cases (48.6%). The rather common occurrence of damages of bones and joints and tunnel syndromes respectively can be explained probably in additon to the vibration also by the high physical stress required by this profession."

Background Although some occupational sources of hand-transmitted vibration (HTV) have been extensively investigated, the risks associated with others are poorly characterized. Methods A questionnaire was mailed to a community sample of 12,240 men aged 16- 64 years and 906 men from the armed forces. Questions covered current occupation, sources of HTV, numbness or tingling in the fingers in the past week, and finger blanching. In the 5,364 respondents who had been at work in the past week, associations between symptoms and exposures were examined by logistic regression, with odds ratios converted into prevalence ratios (PRs). Results Altogether, 513 men (10%) reported cold-induced finger blanching and 769 (14%) sensory symptoms in the fingers. The risk of blanching was increased in builders (PR 2.4, 95% CI 1.0-5.2), carpenters and joiners (PR 1.9, 95% CI 1.0-3.4), motor mechanics (PR 2.3, 95% CI 1.1-4.6), and laborers (PR 2.8, 95% CI 1.3-6.0); while the risk of sensory symptoms was elevated in laborers (PR 4.0, 95% CI 2.3-6.6) and plant operatives (PR 3.5, 95% CI 1.9-5.9). Use of hand-guided mowers, concrete breakers, chain saws, and jig saws was significantly associated with symptoms. Conclusions Little attention has been paid to the risks of vibration injury in construction workers, woodworkers, motor mechanics, and laborers, or to the risks from mowers, jig saws and several other common vibratory tools. These should be a focus for further investigation and preventive measures

"Fish processing is a seasonal activity in the seacoast regions. Work-related stresses and health hazards of women in fish processing works (N=185) were examined to explore interventions to mitigate the hazards. The activities included cleaning and grading of fishes, peeling of shells, deveining, slicing, ring cutting of squid, processing for instant quick freezing, and packing of fishes and transferring to cold storage. Standing at the work desk or sitting on floor, the women in bare hands performed varieties of tasks with abundant use of ice-cold chlorinated water. A multi-method ergonomics checklist was introduced, including assessment of health complaints, musculoskeletal pain and discomfort, skin symptoms and temperatures (Tsk) of hand and fingers. A principal component analysis yielded three components of stressors related to the work environment, the methods of work, and the psychosocial variables that explained 80.4% of the total variance. Component 1 (15 items) described the work environment stressors, such as cold, wet, greasy and slippery work premises, congested work area, lack of personal protective wears and irregular work hours. The cold injuries—blanching of fingers to hand numbness, and Raynaud's phenomena in the palm areas, might be attributed to the stressors of Component 1 that explained 32.5% of the total variance. The Tsk of hand areas during work were as low as 20.7±1.9 °C, i.e., 8 °C less than the pre-exposure values. One-way ANOVA showed that the Tsk of the hand areas differed with the exposure conditions (F(2,95) ranged from 44.2 to 107.3; p0.001 for Tsk of back of hand and fingers, respectively). The drop in Tsk during work were statistically significant (p0.001), compared to pre-exposure Tsk. Component 2 (13 items) described the stressors of the methods of work, such as unsafe hand tools, sitting on the floor, and sustained standing. About 67% of the workers complained of musculoskeletal pain and discomfort. The highest prevalence of discomfort was reported for the lower back, followed by knees, upper back, calf, and other areas, that explained the stressors grouped under Component 2. The women were at risks of repeated cut injuries from the unsafe cutting knives, and handling of fish materials. Principal component 3 (9 items)—the psychosocial variables (supervisory pressure, changing job assignments, personal job characteristics) explained about 22.8% of the total variance. The study reiterated for the much needed work design interventions to mitigate the documented risk factors. Since the hands were the most affected body parts, the regular wearing of latex gloves was advocated and in using gloves for 2 h work, the women substantially improved Tsk of the hand and fingers, compared to the situations when working bare hands, and 84% of the women did not show any cold induced symptoms. An overall impression prevailed that the use of gloves gave the women good feelings of working better."

"La pubblicazione considera le vibrazioni correlate alle patologie professionali di rilevante interesse assicurativo.
In particolare la sindrome di Raynaud e quella del tunnel carpale sono indotte dagli sforzi correlati al sistema mano-braccio, mentre le patologie del rachide sono le sole correlabili alle sollecitazioni trasmesse dal corpo intero.
Tali patologie dipendono tuttavia sia dall'uso di strumenti vibranti sia da altre fonti quali, ad esempio, la movimentazione di carichi notevoli.
In ausilio alla guida sono stati inoltre creati fogli elettronici per l'elaborazione degli indici revisionali indicativi (es. probabilità di insorgenza della malattia in base agli anni di esposizione; anni necessari alla probabilità del 10% di insorgenza della patologia). "

"How and why do physicians come to regard certain medical disorders as work-related? Is this process merely a matter of gathering and interpreting empirical evidence or is it a complex social phenomenon? In this fascinating book, Allard Dembe studies the histories of three ailments now commonly considered to be work-related--cumulative trauma disorders (especially carpal tunnel syndrome), occupational back pain, and noise-induced hearing loss--and demonstrates that numerous social factors affect whether the medical community recognizes an illness as job-related.
According to Dembe, physicians may be influenced by such social factors as: the advent of new technologies (computers replacing typewriters, for example); passage of laws establishing workers' compensation; union campaigns and labor activism; public outcry against environmental hazards; cultural stereotyping (some complaints of hearing loss, for example, have been linked to nervous tendencies of women); medical specialization and competition (diagnosis of back pain as a traumatic injury corresponded with the growth of orthopedics after World War I); and media attention. Dembe contends that physicians have been forced to act as society's gatekeepers--referees in controversies having significant implications for labor relations and the industrial economy. He maintains that physicians should instead be free to concentrate on the health of patients and suggests alternative methods for conferring appropriate medical benefits and ensuring protection against occupational hazards."

"Près d'un salarié sur cinq déclare être exposé aux vibrations au moins un quart de son temps de travail dans l'Union européenne. Le syndrome des vibrations main-bras susceptible d'en résulter est une pathologie complexe, dont la physiopathologie n'est pas encore totalement connue, associant des signes neurologiques, vasculaires et/ou ostéo-articulaires. Des travaux de recherche visent à mieux connaître la relation entre l'exposition aux vibrations mainbras et leurs effets sur les troubles angioneurotiques du membre supérieur, notamment le syndrome de Raynaud d'originie vibratoire, de façon à faire progresser la prévention des risques professionnels dans ce domaine. Cet article propose d'en faire une synthèse non exhaustive."