Esthesiometry, nail compression and other function tests used in Japan for evaluating the hand-arm vibration syndrome

Various function tests are performed on the upper extremities of patients in Japan as part of a systematic method for diagnosing the hand-arm vibration syndrome. Although the observations are not confined to the hands and arms, but include the whole body, the evaluation of the syndrome is essentially based on the severity of Raynaud's phenomenon and the findings of the function tests. With the function tests, including a cold provocation test with 10 degrees C water, the efficiency of discrimination between workers with vibration-induced white finger and reference workers was investigated. The results indicated that the function tests were of diagnostic significance for the hand-arm vibration syndrome. The influences of ageing, atmospheric temperature in the test room, seasonal variation in temperature, and reproducibility were investigated to clarify some points. The equipment and techniques have been basically standardized. However, for comparing and analyzing the results of the function tests performed in different research institutes, further investigation of the standardization of the test and evaluation methods is necessary.