ABSTRACT
Scientific interest into the impact of vibrating stimuli goes back to the beginning of the 20th century when Hamilton (1918) described an unusual disease in limestone cutters. After the introduction of air-hammers (main vibrations of 75 Hz during 8–10 hours per shift), the majority of the cutters developed vibration-induced white fingers with altered sensory perceptions (Hamilton, 1918). Many vibration studies that were published in the 20th century focused on the detrimental effects of mechanical vibrations in the work environment, for example when operating tools (e.g. sledgehammer, form machines) 152or while riding in a vehicle (e.g. truck, helicopter, tank). The latter vibrations affect the whole body and for such vibrations the term whole body vibration (WBV) is introduced. The work-related “bad vibrations” often consists of prolonged, (random) vibrations in multiple directions, with lower frequencies (1–25 Hz), and variable magnitudes. Reviews of the literature on work-related vibrations show that exposure to such levels of vibrations mainly leads to increased health risks of the musculoskeletal, as well as the peripheral nervous system (Seidel and Heide, 1986; Hulshof van Zanten, 1987).
