VIBRATION SENSIBILITY TESTING IN THE WORKPLACE - DAY-TO-DAY RELIABILITY

Loss of vibration sensibility has been suggested as an early indicator of peripheral compression neuropathy, including carpal tunnel syndrom e. Although vibration sensibility has been used frequently to evaluate carpal tunnel syndrome, the day-to-day reliability of vibration measu rements in an industrial population measured at the workplace has not been assessed. Vibration sensibility testing was performed at the univ ersity ergonomics laboratory on 50 volunteers (100 hands) and at a new spaper company on 50 workers (100 hands). Vibration perception and dis appearance thresholds were measured on two occasions separated by 3 to 5 days. Student's t tests indicated no significant differences betwee n the first and second tests or between the two groups. Pearson produc t-moment correlations for test-retest reliability were lower in the in dustry group but were relatively high despite the less than optimal te sting conditions. Our findings suggest that vibration sensibility meas urements are reliable from day to day not only in the laboratory but a lso in the workplace.