Skip to main content
PMC home page
British Journal of Industrial Medicine logoLink to British Journal of Industrial Medicine
. 1989 Aug;46(8):575–581. doi: 10.1136/oem.46.8.575

Transitory postural vasomotor dysfunction in the finger after short term hand vibration.

N Olsen 1, O U Petring 1, N Rossing 1
PMCID: PMC1009829  PMID: 2775678

Abstract

The transitory effects of hand vibration (ah, w = 3.16 m/s2 during three minutes) on postural vasomotor functions of skin capillary blood flow rate in the finger were studied by the local 133xenon washout technique in ten men with vibration induced white finger (VWF), nine men professionally exposed to hand-arm vibration but without finger symptoms (HAV), and eight male controls (MC). The following postural vasomotor functions were measured: (a) the vasomuscular, non-neurogenic autoregulation, tested by raising the finger 20 cm; (b) the local venoarteriolar vasoconstrictor axon reflex, tested by lowering the finger 40 cm; and (c) the central sympathetic vasoconstrictor reflex elicited by central baroreceptors and tested by changing the body posture from supine to sitting upright. Before short term vibration the vasoconstriction elicited by central baroreceptors was increased in VWF (p less than 0.01) and normal in HAV (p greater than 0.10). The local axon reflex and the autoregulation functioned normally in VWF and HAV (p greater than 0.30). Three minutes after vibration, autoregulation was abolished and the functions of the central and local sympathetic vasoconstrictor reflexes were equally impaired in all three groups (p less than or equal to 0.01). All three vasomotor functions were completely restored 60 minutes after vibration in MC (p greater than 0.10) and also 30 minutes after vibration in one male control (p greater than 0.20). The results indicate a hyperreactivity of the central sympathetic nervous system in VWF, and a transitory, impaired function of digital arterioles after short term vibration in all groups.

Full text

PDF
575

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Alaranta H., Seppäläinen A. M. Neuropathy and the automatic analysis of electromyographic signals from vibration exposed workers. Scand J Work Environ Health. 1977 Sep;3(3):128–134. doi: 10.5271/sjweh.2784. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Azuma T., Ohhashi T., Sakaguchi M. An approach to the pathogenesis of "white finger" induced by vibratory stimulation: acute but sustained changes in vascular responsiveness of canine hindlimb to noradrenaline. Cardiovasc Res. 1980 Dec;14(12):725–730. doi: 10.1093/cvr/14.12.725. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Azuma T., Ohhashi T., Sakaguchi M. Vibration-induced hyperresponsiveness of arterial smooth muscle to noradrenaline with special reference to Raynaud's phenomenon in vibration disease. Cardiovasc Res. 1978 Dec;12(12):758–764. doi: 10.1093/cvr/12.12.758. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Henriksen L., Sejrsen P. Local reflex in microcirculation in human cutaneous tissue. Acta Physiol Scand. 1976 Oct;98(2):227–231. doi: 10.1111/j.1748-1716.1976.tb10299.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Henriksen O. Local sympathetic reflex mechanism in regulation of blood flow in human subcutaneous adipose tissue. Acta Physiol Scand Suppl. 1977;450:1–48. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Hirai M. Arterial insufficiency of the hand evaluated by digital blood pressure and arteriographic findings. Circulation. 1978 Nov;58(5):902–908. doi: 10.1161/01.cir.58.5.902. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Hirai M., Nielsen S. L., Lassen N. A. Blood pressure measurement of all five fingers by strain gauge plethysmography. Scand J Clin Lab Invest. 1976 Nov;36(7):627–632. doi: 10.1080/00365517609054487. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Häggendal E., Johansson B. Effects of arterial carbon dioxide tension and oxygen saturation on cerebral blood flow autoregulation in dogs. Acta Physiol Scand Suppl. 1965;258:27–53. doi: 10.1111/j.1748-1716.1965.tb03234.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Kastrup J., Nørgaard T., Parving H. H., Lassen N. A. Arteriolar hyalinosis does not interfere with the local veno-arteriolar reflex regulation of subcutaneous blood flow in insulin-dependent diabetic patients. Scand J Clin Lab Invest. 1987 Sep;47(5):483–489. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Kristensen J. K. Local regulation of blood flow in cutaneous and subcutaneous tissue in patients with generalized scleroderma. Acta Derm Venereol Suppl (Stockh) 1980;Suppl 90:1–39. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Lindblad L. E., Lorenz R. R., Shepherd J. T., Vanhoutte P. M. Effect of vibration on a canine cutaneous artery. Am J Physiol. 1986 Mar;250(3 Pt 2):H519–H523. doi: 10.1152/ajpheart.1986.250.3.H519. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Ljung B., Sivertsson R. Vibration-induced inhibition of vascular smooth muscle contraction. Blood Vessels. 1975;12(1):38–52. doi: 10.1159/000158037. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Lundborg G., Dahlin L. B., Danielsen N., Hansson H. A., Necking L. E., Pyykkö I. Intraneural edema following exposure to vibration. Scand J Work Environ Health. 1987 Aug;13(4):326–329. doi: 10.5271/sjweh.2033. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Nielsen S. L., Lassen N. A. Measurement of digital blood pressure after local cooling. J Appl Physiol Respir Environ Exerc Physiol. 1977 Nov;43(5):907–910. doi: 10.1152/jappl.1977.43.5.907. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Olsen N., Fjeldborg P., Brchner-Mortensen J. Sympathetic and local vasoconstrictor response to cold in vibration induced white finger. Br J Ind Med. 1985 Apr;42(4):272–275. doi: 10.1136/oem.42.4.272. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Olsen N., Petring O. U., Rossing N. Exaggerated postural vasoconstrictor reflex in Raynaud's phenomenon. Br Med J (Clin Res Ed) 1987 May 9;294(6581):1186–1188. doi: 10.1136/bmj.294.6581.1186. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Olsen N., Petring O. U. Vibration elicited vasoconstrictor reflex in Raynaud's phenomena. Br J Ind Med. 1988 Jun;45(6):415–419. doi: 10.1136/oem.45.6.415. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Pyykkö I., Starck J., Pekkarinen J. Further evidence of a relation between noise-induced permanent threshold shift and vibration-induced digital vasospasms. Am J Otolaryngol. 1986 Nov-Dec;7(6):391–398. doi: 10.1016/s0196-0709(86)80013-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Sejrsen P. Atraumatic local labeling of skin by inert gas: epicutaneous application of xenon 133. J Appl Physiol. 1968 Apr;24(4):570–572. doi: 10.1152/jappl.1968.24.4.570. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Sejrsen P. Blood flow in cutaneous tissue in man studied by washout of radioactive xenon. Circ Res. 1969 Aug;25(2):215–229. doi: 10.1161/01.res.25.2.215. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Skagen K. Sympathetic reflex control of blood flow in human subcutaneous tissue during orthostatic maneuvres. Dan Med Bull. 1983 Jun;30(4):229–241. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from British Journal of Industrial Medicine are provided here courtesy of BMJ Publishing Group

RESOURCES