The effect of selected rest break activities on reaction time, balance, and perceived discomfort after one hour of simulated occupational whole-body vibration exposure in healthy adults
Date
2023-08-12
Authors
Burnett, Wadena D
Tweten, Michael
Okpalauwaekwe, Udoka
Trask, Catherine
Milosavljevic, Stephan
Journal Title
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Volume Title
Publisher
Taylor & Francis
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Article
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Abstract
Background & Objective
Negative health effects from occupational whole-body vibration (WBV) exposure during machinery operation include alterations in proprioception, vestibular function, reaction time, stress, motor response, and decrements in musculoskeletal health. To reduce WBV exposure during machinery operation, it may be possible to incorporate short rest break activities throughout the day. This study aims to determine if there are intervention activities that can minimize decrements in cognitive, proprioceptive, and musculoskeletal effects related to WBV exposure during machine operation.
Materials & Methods
Eleven healthy adults participated in four 1-hour sessions of ecologically valid WBV exposure followed by one of four 5-minute activities: sitting, walking, 2 minutes of gaze stabilization exercise (GSE) coupled with 3 minutes of trunk mobility exercise (GSE+MOBIL), or 2 minutes of GSE coupled with a 3-minute walk (GSE+WALK). Baseline and post-activity measurements (rating of perceived discomfort, balance and postural sway measurements, 5-minute psychomotor vigilance task test) were submitted to a paired t-test to determine the effect of WBV exposure and activities on physical, cognitive, and sensorimotor systems and to a repeated measures ANOVA to determine any differences across activities.
Results
We observed degradation of the slowest 10% reaction speed outcomes between baseline and post-activity after walking (7.3%, p<0.05) and sitting (8.6%, p<0.05) but not after GSE+MOBIL or GSE+WALK activities. Slowest 10% reaction speeds after GSE+MOBIL activity was faster than all other activities. Rating of perceived discomfort was higher after SIT and WALK activities. There were no notable differences in balance outcomes.
Conclusion
When compared to sitting for 5 minutes, an activity including GSE and an active component, such as walking or trunk mobility exercises, resulted in maintenance of reaction time after WBV exposure. If confirmed in occupational environments, GSE may provide a simple, rapid, effective, and inexpensive means to protect against decrements in reaction time after WBV exposure.
Description
Copyright statement: This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the creative commons Attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. The terms on which this article has been published allow the posting of the Accepted Manuscript in a repository by the author(s) or with their consent.
Keywords
Whole-body vibration, Occupational exposure, Accident prevention, Ergonomics, Laboratory simulation, Reaction time
Citation
Wadena D. Burnett, Michael Tweten, Udoka Okpalauwaekwe, Catherine Trask & Stephan Milosavljevic (2023) The effect of selected rest break activities on reaction time, balance, and perceived discomfort after one hour of simulated occupational whole-body vibration exposure in healthy adults, Annals of Medicine, 55:2, 2244965, DOI: 10.1080/07853890.2023.2244965
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Citation
Wadena D. Burnett, Michael Tweten, Udoka Okpalauwaekwe, Catherine Trask & Stephan Milosavljevic (2023) The effect of selected rest break activities on reaction time, balance, and perceived discomfort after one hour of simulated occupational whole-body vibration exposure in healthy adults, Annals of Medicine, 55:2, 2244965, DOI: 10.1080/07853890.2023.2244965
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DOI
10.1080/07853890.2023.2244965