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Technical Paper

Investigation of the Effect of Whole-Body Vibration on the Human Body by Spine Modelling

2005-06-14
2005-01-2715
Low back pain presents a common problem in occupational health, where exposure to vibration in vehicles is recognised as an important risk factor. It is commonly accepted that long-term exposure to whole-body vibrations can induce degenerative changes in the lumbar spine, but it is not understood what injury mechanisms are responsible for the problems involved. The standard approach is to model and to measure spine movement in response to low frequency vibrations (in the range of 0-20 Hz), in order to make a realistic prediction of vibration transmission through the human body, and of consequent pressure/tension between spine segments. This information, together with data on muscle behaviour, should produce an improved understanding of the spinal movements caused by vibration, and provide objective means for comfort and health evaluation of specific vibration frequencies and body postures.
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