Correlations between Ratings and Technical Measurements in Hand-Intensive Work.

An accurate rating of hand activity and force is essential in risk assessment and for the effective prevention of work-related musculoskeletal disorders. However, it is unclear whether the subjective ratings of workers and observers correlate to corresponding objective technical measures of exposure. Fifty-nine workers were video recorded while performing a hand-intensive work task at their workplace.

Ratings of Hand Activity and Force Levels among Women and Men Who Perform Identical Hand-Intensive Work Tasks.

We compared hand activity and force ratings in women and men doing identical hand-intensive work tasks. Musculoskeletal disorders are more common in women and hand-intensive work leads to an increased risk of these disorders. Knowledge of the gender influence in the rating of work exposure is lacking.

Patient expectations about a clinical diagnostic test may influence the clinician's test interpretation.

Background: With medical information widely available, patients often have preconceived ideas regarding diagnostic procedures and management strategies.

Objectives: To investigate whether expectations, such as beliefs about the source of symptoms and knowledge about diagnostic tests, influence pain perception during a clinical diagnostic test.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Double-Sided Mechanical Shocks Provoke Larger Seated Postural Reactions Compared With Single-Sided Mechanical Shocks.

Study Design: Human volunteers were exposed experimentally to single-sided mechanical shocks (SSMS) and double-sided mechanical shocks (DSMS) while seated.

Objective: The aim of this study was to describe and contrast seated postural reactions due to SSMS or DSMS in healthy male adults.

Summary Of Background Data: Mechanical shocks to the body, caused when driving on irregular terrain, are suggested to be hazardous to the spine and may be associated with the reported musculoskeletal pain of the back and neck among professional drivers.

Building COPD care on shaky ground: a mixed methods study from Swedish primary care professional perspective.

Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a public health problem. Interprofessional collaboration and health promotion interventions such as exercise training, education, and behaviour change are cost effective, have a good effect on health status, and are recommended in COPD treatment guidelines. There is a gap between the guidelines and the healthcare available to people with COPD.

Physical Activity Levels Among Adolescent and Young Adult Women and Men with and without Intellectual Disability.

Background: As physical activity can prevent overweight and promote general health, the aim was to investigate the amount of physical activity among adolescent and young adult women and men with intellectual disability (ID), compared to age-matched control groups without intellectual disability. A further aim was to examine whether physical activity level was associated with the body mass index (BMI).

Materials And Methods: Fifty-two adolescent and young adult women and men with intellectual disability and 48 without intellectual disability, between the ages 16 and 20 years, BMIs ranging from 16.

Seated postural neck and trunk reactions to sideways perturbations with or without a cognitive task.

Driving on irregular terrain will expose the driver to sideways mechanical shocks or perturbations that may cause musculoskeletal problems. How a cognitive task, imposed on the driver, affects seated postural reactions during perturbations is unknown. The aim of the present study was to investigate seated postural reactions in the neck and trunk among healthy adults exposed to sideways perturbations with or without a cognitive task.

Telehealthcare in COPD: a systematic review and meta-analysis on physical outcomes and dyspnea.

Background: Only a minority of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) have access to pulmonary rehabilitation (PR). Home-based solutions such as telehealthcare, have been used in efforts to make PR more available. The aim of this systematic review was to investigate the effects of telehealthcare on physical activity level, physical capacity and dyspnea in patients with COPD, and to describe the interventions used.

Toxicological investigations on the respirable fraction of silicon carbide grain products by the in vitro vector model.

Increased lung cancer incidence with workers at the production site of crude silicon carbide (SiC) using the Acheson process has been reported. Several agents derived from the process were discussed as causative factors. Recently concern had been expressed about the presence of cleavage fragments (CFs) in commercial products fulfilling the WHO criteria for fibers.

Postural muscle responses and adaptations to backward platform perturbations in young people with and without intellectual disability.

This study examines postural muscle responses to backward perturbations in young people (16-20 years) with and without intellectual disability (ID). The study included 56 young people with ID and 43 age-matched without ID volunteers. The subjects stood on a platform that was moved backwards in a surface translation.

Test-retest reliability, smallest real difference and concurrent validity of six different balance tests on young people with mild to moderate intellectual disability.

Objectives: Some studies have reported that people with intellectual disability may have reduced balance ability compared with the population in general. However, none of these studies involved adolescents, and the reliability and validity of balance tests in this population are not known. The purpose of this study was to examine the reliability of six different balance tests and to investigate their concurrent validity.

Adolescents with intellectual disability have reduced postural balance and muscle performance in trunk and lower limbs compared to peers without intellectual disability.

For adolescent people with ID, falls are more common compared to peers without ID. However, postural balance among this group is not thoroughly investigated. The aim of this study was to compare balance and muscle performance among adolescents aged between 16 and 20 years with a mild to moderate intellectual disability (ID) to age-matched adolescents without ID.

Does daily exposure to whole-body vibration and mechanical shock relate to the prevalence of low back and neck pain in a rural workforce?

Objectives: To determine whether whole-body vibration (WBV) and mechanical shock exposure from quad bike use are associated with the prevalence of neck and low back pain (LBP) in New Zealand farmers and rural workers.

Methods: Full-day WBV and mechanical shock exposures were gathered from 130 farmers and rural workers. Participants were surveyed for a history of neck or LBP in the past 7 days and in the past 12 months.

Exposure to whole-body vibration and mechanical shock: a field study of quad bike use in agriculture.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to determine exposure to whole-body vibration (WBV) and mechanical shock in rural workers who use quad bikes and to explore how personal, physical, and workplace characteristics influence exposure.

Methods: A seat pad mounted triaxial accelerometer and data logger recorded full workday vibration and shock data from 130 New Zealand rural workers. Personal, physical, and workplace characteristics were gathered using a modified version of the Whole Body Vibration Health Surveillance Questionnaire.

All-terrain vehicle use in agriculture: exposure to whole body vibration and mechanical shock.

Whole body vibration (WBV) and mechanical shock were measured in 12 New Zealand farmers during their daily use of all-terrain vehicles (ATVs). As per the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) guidelines for WBV exposure, frequencies between 0 and 100Hz were recorded via a seat-pad tri-axial accelerometer during 20min of ATV use. The farmers were also surveyed to estimate seasonal variation in daily ATV usage as well as 7-day and 12-month prevalence of spinal pain.

Neck pain combined with arm pain among professional drivers of forest machines and the association with whole-body vibration exposure.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the existence of neck pain and arm pain among professional forest machine drivers and to find out if pain were related to their whole-body vibration (WBV) exposure. A self-administered questionnaire was sent to 529 forest machine drivers in northern Sweden and the response was 63%. Two pain groups were formed; 1) neck pain; 2) neck pain combined with arm pain.

Effects on leg muscular performance from whole-body vibration exercise: a systematic review.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects on leg muscular performance from whole-body vibration exercise. Literature search was performed on the databases Pubmed, Cinahl, ISI web of science (Sci-expanded, SSCI) and Embase (Rehab & Physical Med). Rating of 19 relevant studies was performed (14 on long-term exercise and five on short-term exercise) using a score system for the methodological quality.

Hand-arm vibration syndrome (HAVS) and musculoskeletal symptoms in the neck and the upper limbs in professional drivers of terrain vehicles--a cross sectional study.

This study compares the prevalence of symptoms of Hand-arm vibration syndrome (HAVS) and musculoskeletal symptoms in the neck and the upper limbs, between professional drivers of terrain vehicles and a referent group. 769 male professional drivers of forest machines, snowmobiles, snowgroomers and reindeer herders and 296 randomly selected male referents completed a questionnaire about symptoms of HAVS and musculoskeletal symptoms in the neck and the upper limbs. They also gave information about their lifetime exposure duration driving terrain vehicles and their nicotine use.

[Biological responses of tin mine particles and their association with adverse effects on health in tin mine].

Objective: To evaluate the biological and toxicity of tin mine particles mixed with crystalline silica using an in vitro test, and to compare to the pathogenesis of pneumoconiosis and lung cancer.

Methods: Respirable particle samples were sampled from four tin mines, in which elevated mortality of pneumoconiosis and lung cancer were reported in miners exposed to particles. Alveolar macrophages (AM) are considered as the target cells of primary dust effects.

Whole-body vibration exposure and non-neutral neck postures during occupational use of all-terrain vehicles.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to characterize whole-body vibration (WBV) exposure from various all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) like snowgroomers, snowmobiles and forwarders, and to investigate how frequently the drivers' cervical spine is positioned in a non-neutral rotational position during operation.

Methods: Field measurements of WBV were measured according to the international standard ISO 2631-1 in 19 ATVs. Simultaneous recordings of frequency and duration of rotational neck movements exceeding 15 degrees were achieved through an observational method, PEOflex.

Biological responses of workplace particles and their association with adverse health effects on miners.

Epidemiological research has demonstrated the relationship between exposure to quartz dust and an elevated risk of pneumoconiosis and possible elevated risk of cancer. The current study was designed to evaluate the biological responses of workplace particles containing crystalline silica using an in vitro cell test. Respirable particle samples were sampled from four tin mines, where the standardized mortality ratio (SMR) for pneumoconiosis was 51.

Variation of biological responses to different respirable quartz flours determined by a vector model.

Background: The hypothesis of widely differing lung damage due to commonly used types of quartz was studied in 16 samples of respirable quartzes (> 99% silica) from sites of the European quartz industry, using an in vitro test, the vector model. Two samples with high and 2 with low biological activities were identified and subsequently examined for their in vivo lung toxicity (inflammation, fibrosis, genotoxicity) and surface characteristics. Alveolar macrophages (AM) are considered the target cells of primary dust effects.

Osteoarthritis in the hip and whole-body vibration in heavy vehicles.

Background: Farmers have an increased risk of osteoarthritis in the hip, but the mechanism is not known. It has been suggested that the driving of tractors and jumping up and down from the tractor cabin is of importance. In this study, we test the hypothesis that driving vehicles with high levels of whole-body vibration (WBV) is associated with an increased risk of osteoarthritis in the hip.

Different toxic, fibrogenic and mutagenic effects of four commercial quartz flours in the rat lung.

There is still intensive debate on the variability in the biological activities of different quartz species. Therefore we examined in a rat lung model the inflammatory, fibrogenic and genotoxic characteristics of four commercial quartz flours. The samples, two with probably low activity and two with probably high activity were selected from a panel of 16 samples on the basis of in vitro investigations.

Neuromusculoskeletal disorders in the neck and upper extremities among drivers of all-terrain vehicles--a case series.

Background: The purpose of this study was to investigate whether professional drivers of all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) with neck pain have a different array of neuromusculoskeletal disorders in the neck and upper extremities than a referent group with neck pain from the general population. It is hypothesized that exposure to shock-type vibration and unfavorable working postures in ATVs have the capacity to cause peripheral nervous lesions.

Methods: This study was based on a case series analyzed according to a case-case comparison design.