Bone mineralization changes in saw operators

In vibration disease the impact on bone and joint systems is considered to be the least frequent one. It includes a degenerative component, rare necrotic alteration and osteoporosis, together with cystic alterations, in the carpal bones. The authors concentrated only on osteoporosis in the proximal parts of upper extremities. They evaluated by X-rays of the thorax the extent of mineralization and, consequently, the osteoporosis of the clavicles. For that purpose they used the corticodiaphyseal Barnett-Nordin index (BNI). In a group of 107 chain saw operators whose both upper extremities had been exposed to the impact of vibration exceeding the threshold limit while operating a chain saw, a statistically significant difference was established in the mineralization of clavicles. These findings contrasted with a control group of 107 healthy males who had never worked with vibrating equipment. The authors did not establish a statistically significant dependence of these changes on simultaneously diagnosed traumatic vasoneurosis and neuropathy. After the risk elimination of vibration the value of the BNI indicates the dynamics and the reversibility of the parameter under observation. These findings suggest that osteoporosis due to the impact of vibrations is by no means a rare phenomenon. It does not affect only the distal parts of the upper extremities. Similarly as angiological and neurological changes, osteoporosis tends towards spontaneous adjustment, once the risk of vibrations has been eliminated.