Reduction of manipulative dexterities and activity of daily living in the patients with vibration induced white finger in Japanese forestry.

The authors carried out more than 20 yr of follow up studies of vibration-induced white finger (VWF) from the time of cessation for the use of chainsaws. These results were presented at the 8th International Conference of Hand-Arm Vibration. It is not uncommon for vibration exposed workers to report difficulty in hand gripping, either due to reduced dexterity or reduced grip strength . With respect to manipulative dexterity impairment it seems that the muscular weakness may be partly due to a disturbance of the fine control of the hand muscles. The sensorineural staging includes this dysfunction for severe stage (3SN) proposed by Brammer et al.. Although there were a small number of observational studies which have indicated reduction of manipulative dexterities in the patients with VWF . It is important to evaluate and treat the patient with this problem from the view of the quality of life. The authors conducted the cross-sectional designed case-control study of the manipulative dexterities and activity of daily living on the basis of follow up studies among the VWF patients.