Bone and Joint Changes in the Wrists and Elbows and Their Association With Hand and Arm Vibration Exposure

Radiographs of the elbow and wrist joints and bones were made for a group of 82 workers using vibrating tools since the beginning of their professional life and for a group of 75 manual workers not exposed to vibration. The two groups were matched for age. Prevalences of radiological changes increased markedly after the age of 45 yr but were similar in the two groups, except for semilunar lesions, which were significantly more frequent among the exposed workers. The only positive conclusion is that some lesions tend to appear concomitantly for workers exposed to vibration, while they are randomly distributed for the control group. It is concluded that yearly radiological examination of the arms of the workers using vibrating tools is unwarranted