Symptoms of Musculoskeletal Disorders among Drivers of All-Terrain Vehicles in Northern Sweden
All-terrain vehicles (ATVs) are a group of machines that do not operate on prepared roads. Off-road use of these fast-moving machines results in the driver being exposed to high magnitudes of vibration and shock. It is estimated that there are up to 20,000 people in Sweden that uses ATVs during thei...
Published in: | Noise & Vibration Worldwide |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
SAGE Publications
2005
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1260/0957456053499158 http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1260/0957456053499158 |
id |
crsagepubl:10.1260/0957456053499158 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
crsagepubl:10.1260/0957456053499158 2023-05-15T17:45:14+02:00 Symptoms of Musculoskeletal Disorders among Drivers of All-Terrain Vehicles in Northern Sweden Rehn, B. Lundström, R. Nilsson, T. Bergdahl, I.A. Ahlgren, C. From, C. Sundelin, G. Järvholm, B. 2005 http://dx.doi.org/10.1260/0957456053499158 http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1260/0957456053499158 en eng SAGE Publications http://journals.sagepub.com/page/policies/text-and-data-mining-license Noise & Vibration Worldwide volume 36, issue 1, page 13-18 ISSN 0957-4565 2048-4062 Mechanical Engineering Acoustics and Ultrasonics Mechanics of Materials Condensed Matter Physics General Materials Science journal-article 2005 crsagepubl https://doi.org/10.1260/0957456053499158 2022-04-14T04:41:25Z All-terrain vehicles (ATVs) are a group of machines that do not operate on prepared roads. Off-road use of these fast-moving machines results in the driver being exposed to high magnitudes of vibration and shock. It is estimated that there are up to 20,000 people in Sweden that uses ATVs during their work, such as forest machines, snowmobiles, snowgroomers, motorcycles, and three- and four-wheeled vehicles. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to investigate the risk for musculoskeletal symptoms of the neck, shoulders, upper and lower back among professional drivers of ATVs. Data from 215 male drivers of forest machines, 137 drivers of snowmobiles, 79 drivers of snowgroomers and 167 men randomly selected from the general population to act as a control group were collected. All subjects were from the four most northern counties in Sweden. Musculoskeletal symptoms during the previous year were assessed using the standardised Nordic questionnaire. Prevalence rate ratios were adjusted for age, smoking and job strain. Results showed that all driver categories had significantly increased prevalence rate ratios (1.5-2.9) for experiencing symptoms in the neck-shoulder and thoracic regions. Unlike findings from previous epidemiological studies, there was not an increased risk of low back pain among any of the driver categories compared to the control group. The higher prevalence of musculoskeletal problems is thought to be due to long-term exposure to physical factors, such as, whole-body vibration (WBV) and shock, static muscle overload and extreme body postures. The findings in this study highlight the fact that working with ATVs may cause, aggravate or prevent resolution of musculoskeletal symptoms. However, the exact cause of these problems is unclear and the interaction between vibration and body posture is not known. The authors believe however that it is necessary to reduce exposure to WBV and shock to decrease the high prevalence of musculoskeletal symptoms among professional ATV drivers. This may be done by implementing preventative measures, such as selecting the best vehicle model or seat, optimising driving style and minimizing use in rough terrain. Health surveillance seems to be important for people that regularly use ATVs in their work. Article in Journal/Newspaper Northern Sweden SAGE Publications (via Crossref) Noise & Vibration Worldwide 36 1 13 18 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
SAGE Publications (via Crossref) |
op_collection_id |
crsagepubl |
language |
English |
topic |
Mechanical Engineering Acoustics and Ultrasonics Mechanics of Materials Condensed Matter Physics General Materials Science |
spellingShingle |
Mechanical Engineering Acoustics and Ultrasonics Mechanics of Materials Condensed Matter Physics General Materials Science Rehn, B. Lundström, R. Nilsson, T. Bergdahl, I.A. Ahlgren, C. From, C. Sundelin, G. Järvholm, B. Symptoms of Musculoskeletal Disorders among Drivers of All-Terrain Vehicles in Northern Sweden |
topic_facet |
Mechanical Engineering Acoustics and Ultrasonics Mechanics of Materials Condensed Matter Physics General Materials Science |
description |
All-terrain vehicles (ATVs) are a group of machines that do not operate on prepared roads. Off-road use of these fast-moving machines results in the driver being exposed to high magnitudes of vibration and shock. It is estimated that there are up to 20,000 people in Sweden that uses ATVs during their work, such as forest machines, snowmobiles, snowgroomers, motorcycles, and three- and four-wheeled vehicles. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to investigate the risk for musculoskeletal symptoms of the neck, shoulders, upper and lower back among professional drivers of ATVs. Data from 215 male drivers of forest machines, 137 drivers of snowmobiles, 79 drivers of snowgroomers and 167 men randomly selected from the general population to act as a control group were collected. All subjects were from the four most northern counties in Sweden. Musculoskeletal symptoms during the previous year were assessed using the standardised Nordic questionnaire. Prevalence rate ratios were adjusted for age, smoking and job strain. Results showed that all driver categories had significantly increased prevalence rate ratios (1.5-2.9) for experiencing symptoms in the neck-shoulder and thoracic regions. Unlike findings from previous epidemiological studies, there was not an increased risk of low back pain among any of the driver categories compared to the control group. The higher prevalence of musculoskeletal problems is thought to be due to long-term exposure to physical factors, such as, whole-body vibration (WBV) and shock, static muscle overload and extreme body postures. The findings in this study highlight the fact that working with ATVs may cause, aggravate or prevent resolution of musculoskeletal symptoms. However, the exact cause of these problems is unclear and the interaction between vibration and body posture is not known. The authors believe however that it is necessary to reduce exposure to WBV and shock to decrease the high prevalence of musculoskeletal symptoms among professional ATV drivers. This may be done by implementing preventative measures, such as selecting the best vehicle model or seat, optimising driving style and minimizing use in rough terrain. Health surveillance seems to be important for people that regularly use ATVs in their work. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Rehn, B. Lundström, R. Nilsson, T. Bergdahl, I.A. Ahlgren, C. From, C. Sundelin, G. Järvholm, B. |
author_facet |
Rehn, B. Lundström, R. Nilsson, T. Bergdahl, I.A. Ahlgren, C. From, C. Sundelin, G. Järvholm, B. |
author_sort |
Rehn, B. |
title |
Symptoms of Musculoskeletal Disorders among Drivers of All-Terrain Vehicles in Northern Sweden |
title_short |
Symptoms of Musculoskeletal Disorders among Drivers of All-Terrain Vehicles in Northern Sweden |
title_full |
Symptoms of Musculoskeletal Disorders among Drivers of All-Terrain Vehicles in Northern Sweden |
title_fullStr |
Symptoms of Musculoskeletal Disorders among Drivers of All-Terrain Vehicles in Northern Sweden |
title_full_unstemmed |
Symptoms of Musculoskeletal Disorders among Drivers of All-Terrain Vehicles in Northern Sweden |
title_sort |
symptoms of musculoskeletal disorders among drivers of all-terrain vehicles in northern sweden |
publisher |
SAGE Publications |
publishDate |
2005 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1260/0957456053499158 http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1260/0957456053499158 |
genre |
Northern Sweden |
genre_facet |
Northern Sweden |
op_source |
Noise & Vibration Worldwide volume 36, issue 1, page 13-18 ISSN 0957-4565 2048-4062 |
op_rights |
http://journals.sagepub.com/page/policies/text-and-data-mining-license |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1260/0957456053499158 |
container_title |
Noise & Vibration Worldwide |
container_volume |
36 |
container_issue |
1 |
container_start_page |
13 |
op_container_end_page |
18 |
_version_ |
1766148080410820608 |