Whole-body vibration: What can we do to reduce this known health risk?

Whole-body vibration (WBV) is a significant health risk for four to seven per cent of the workforce, primarily operators of heavy mobile vehicles. Negative health outcomes are associated with excessive vibration exposure, including lower-back pain, spinal degeneration, gastro-intestinal tract problems, sleep problems, headaches, neck problems, autonomic nervous system dysfunction, hearing loss, and nausea. In this plenary, Dr. Jim Dickey describes two approaches that have been successfully used to evaluate seating in heavy mobile machinery. He also shares why optimized seating should be considered for some workplaces.