Thirty Minutes of Hand-Arm Vibration Produces Measurable Nerve Changes: 25 Construction Workers Completed 12 Scenario Combinations, with Frequency the Largest Factor for Nerve Conduction Velocity, in Scientific Reports
An experimental study published in Scientific Reports on November 11, 2026 examined the neurological effects of hand-arm vibration, an occupational hazard associated with neurological and sensory disturbances. In the within-subject study by Aghazadeh and colleagues at Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, 25 construction workers completed 12 scenarios, each involving 30 minutes of exposure using a hand-arm vibration simulator.
The scenarios combined an acceleration of 10 meters per second squared, two vibration frequencies of 31.5 and 63 hertz, two ambient temperatures of 5 and 25 degrees Celsius, and three wrist postures of neutral, flexion and extension. The study measured tactile sensory threshold and median motor nerve conduction velocity.
All scenarios produced reduced conduction velocity and increased tactile threshold. The greatest reduction in conduction velocity occurred at 31.5 hertz, 5 degrees Celsius and wrist flexion, at 2.780 meters per second with a standard deviation of 0.465. The largest increase in tactile threshold occurred at 63 hertz, 5 degrees Celsius, with wrist flexion or extension, at 0.533 grams with a standard deviation of 0.467.
For tactile threshold, significant main effects were observed for vibration frequency and ambient temperature, both at p below 0.001, and for wrist posture at p of 0.010. For conduction velocity, all three main effects were at p below 0.001. Temperature had the largest effect on tactile threshold, with a partial eta squared of 0.307, while frequency had the largest effect on conduction velocity, with a partial eta squared of 0.606. No statistically significant interactions between the three factors were observed, and flexion was generally associated with greater neuro-sensory changes than the neutral posture. The paper carries DOI 10.1038/s41598-026-79492-0. All details follow the abstract and text of the Scientific Reports paper.
Source: Scientific
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：一名工人手持风镐作业，图中是手持振动工具作业的实物照片，为手臂振动研究题材通用配图，非研究实验现场。照片：W.carter 摄，CC BY-SA 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。
