La terapia occupazionale nel danno lavorativo indotto da vibrazione meccanica

Vibrations are defined as repeated oscillatory movements of a body; they can be transmitted by contact to humans. From the point of view of physics, vibrations can be differentiated on the basis of frequency, wavelength, amplitude of the oscillation, velocity and acceleration. As far as concerns occupational hazards, two risk factors have been identified: the first involves low frequency vibrations (vehicle drivers), while the second involves high frequency vibrations (manual percussion tools). The transmission of vibration energy can be localized or generalized. Tertiary prevention of exposure to vibrations is based on the use of anti-vibration gloves (for vibrations of the hand and arm) and on anti-vibration shoes (for vibrations of the whole body). The damage caused by vibrations is due to reduced blood circulation and mechanical stimulation in the joints exposed.