Table 1.
Epidemiologic studies of vibration and musculoskeletal disorders of the neck and shoulder
| Author | Study design | Industry or occupation | Sample | Exposure(s) | Outcome(s) | Results and comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Engholm and Holmstrom, 2005 | Cross-sectional | Sweden: construction workers | 85,191 men | Vibration exposure | Neck and shoulder disorders | Neck and shoulder disorders were significantly associated with vibration exposure. |
| Grooten et al, 2007 | Longitudinal | Sweden: workers in various occupations | 803 men and women (77% response rate) | Working with vibrating tools; sitting ≥75% of working time | Incidence of self-reported neck and shoulder pain at the end of follow-up | Simultaneous exposure to ≥2 of the following: (1) manual handling, (2) working with hands above shoulder level, and (3) working with vibrating tools is associated with a lower chance of being symptom free at the end of the study. |
| Hagberg et al, 2006 | Cross-sectional | Sweden: workers in various occupations (e.g., agriculture, forestry, fishery, plant & machinery) | 9,798 men and women (70% response rate) | WBV | MSDs in neck, shoulder/arm, and hand | Exposure to WBV (≥50% working time) was associated with increased prevalence of MSDs in neck, shoulder/arm, and hand. |
| Issever et al, 2003 | Case–control | Turkey: rock drill workers, heavy-vehicle operators, and office workers | 114 workers (50 rock drill workers and 64 heavy-vehicle operators) and 54 controls (office workers) | HTV and WBV | Variety of health complaints including shoulder pain | Compared with controls, rock-drilling operators (HAV exposure) had significantly more shoulder pain when holding arms up. |
| Johanning et al, 2004 | Case–control | USA: railroad engineers (men and women) | 1,195 engineers (47% response rate) and 323 controls (41% response rate) | WBV | Neck and shoulder pain | Compared with the control group, a significantly greater proportion of railroad engineers who are exposed to WBV reported severe neck and shoulder pain in the past year (OR = 1.86, 95% CI = 1.06–3.28). |
| Merlino et al, 2003 | Cross-sectional | USA: apprentice construction workers | 996 men and women (84.8% response rate) | Occupational exposures associated with construction (e.g., repetitive tasks, working in cramped positions, awkward posture, grasp small objects, bending or twisting) | MSDs of neck, shoulder, upper and lower limbs | Most apprentice construction workers reported MSD symptoms in at least one of nine anatomical sites during the previous year. Women reported significantly more MSD symptoms in the neck, shoulder, and a few other regions than men. |
| Miyashita et al, 1992 | Cross-sectional | Japan: construction machinery operators (power shovel operators, bulldozer operators, forklift operators) and office workers | 184 power shovel operators, 127 bulldozer operators, 44 forklift operators, and 44 controls | WBV and local vibration | Stiff shoulder, and low back pain | WBV was associated with stiff shoulder (43.5–56.8%) in operators. No significant differences were found in the upper limbs between operators and controls. |
| Palmer et al, 2001a | Cross-sectional | England: manual occupations (e.g., carpenters, fitters, construction workers, motor mechanics, electricians, welders, gardeners) and armed forces | 1,856 men | HTV | MSDs of upper limbs, neck, shoulder | Prevalence of pain in the past week: Neck: PR = 1.8 (1.4–2.3) Shoulder: PR = 1.9 (1.4–2.4). There was a significant association between dose of HTV and recent pain in upper limbs and neck. |
| Palmer et al, 2001b | Cross-sectional | UK: workers in several industries (blue-collar and white-collar workers, and the armed forces) | 12,907 men and women (61% response rate) | HAV and WBV | MSDs of upper and lower limbs, neck, shoulder | 4,348 workers (34%) reported neck pain in the past year. Neck pain was most prevalent among male construction workers (38%). No associations were found with exposure to vibration |
| Roquelaure et al, 2009 | Cross-sectional | France: salaried workers in various industries | 3,710 men and women | Working with arms at or above shoulders, vibrating hand tools, extreme wrist bending, psychosocial factors | MSDs of upper extremities | 13% had ≥1 upper extremity MSD. Men: MSDs associated with repetitiveness, arms at or above shoulders, full elbow flexion, and psychological demands. Women: MSDs associated with extreme wrist bending, and vibrating hand tools. |
| Sutinen et al, 2006 | Prospective cohort | Finland: forestry workers | 52 men | HAV | MSDs of upper extremity, neck, and shoulder, HAVS, rotator cuff syndrome, epicondylitis | 38% of workers had neck pain. HAV was associated with right rotator cuff syndrome. There was a dose–response relationship between vibration and HAVS, rotator cuff syndrome, and epicondylitis. |
CI, confidence interval; HAV, hand–arm vibration; HAVS, hand–arm vibration syndrome; HTV, hand-transmitted vibration; MSDs, musculoskeletal disorders; OR, odds ratio; PR, prevalence ratio; WBV, whole-body vibration.