XXXX in the upper extremities of chipping and grinding operators.

@entity571 @entity853 @entity79 @entity10795 @entity2720 @entity4841 @entity925
X-ray examinations of the wrists, the elbows and the shoulders were carried out on 67 vibration-exposed foundry workers and on 46 comparable referents performing heavy manual work. Both groups had a mean age of 39.6 years. Musculoskeletal symptoms, such as @entity4841 of the wrist and @entity2720 , @entity925 and decreased muscular force, were found to be significantly increased in the chipping and grinding workers compared with the referents. After adjustment for age, the prevalence of cysts in the metacarpal and carpal bones was almost the same in the two groups, whereas radiological signs of @entity571 in the wrist joint were more frequent among the vibration-exposed workers (P less than 0.025). The overall prevalence of radiographic @entity2720 was higher in the vibration group than in the reference group (P less than 0.025). Olecranon spurs were observed in 50.7% of the exposed operators and in 28.2% of the referents (P less than 0.025). No difference in the prevalence of radiological changes in the should could be demonstrated between the populations studied. In both groups injuries of bones and joints were not associated with age. Among the chipping and grinding operators, a slight but not significant trend in the prevalence of @entity853 with increasing vibration exposure was observed. The results of this study indicate that the foundry workers using vibrating tools were affected with @entity79 in the elbow and, to a lesser extent, in the wrist, which occurred more frequently than was observed in unexposed referents, who performed solely heavy manual activity. Among the vibration-exposed workers, no relationship between radiological changes in the upper limbs and symptoms of @entity10795 was found, pointing out that different pathogenic mechanisms are involved.
