It is April, and along with April comes the yearly itch for farmers waiting not so patiently to get back in the fields. The fields may still be donning a bright white bonnet, but the hearts of farmers are longing to get back at it. Going hand in hand with ‘getting back at it’ there will be long hours in the seat of the tractor and just this past week in the mail came a resource publication from the Canadian Centre for Health and Safety in Agriculture addressing the topic of musculoskeletal disorders in farmers.
“Few farmers consider the long-term effects of day-to-day lifting, kneeling, stooping, twisting, shoveling and operating equipment.” While many farmers and others who work in physically intensive manual labour industries are familiar with the myriad of pulled muscles, sprains, and strains that are common to the work, few likely give conscious thought to the injuries that can result from whole body vibration. The bumps and jostles of driving over rough terrain take an obvious toll on the body, the resource states, but even the idling of the motor in equipment with good suspension over time can result in musculoskeletal pain, especially in the back. Studies have noted that the number of people affected with musculoskeletal pain increases as the intensity and duration of vibration exposure increases, which indicates a possible link between health effects and the total amount of vibration energy entering the body. So, combining the impact of equipment vibration with the impact of sitting for long periods of time can put significant stresses on the discs of the back.
Whole-body vibration (WBV) is transmitted through the seat or feet of individuals who drive large equipment, or other work vehicles, over rough and uneven surfaces as a main part of their job, this includes the operation of tractors and other equipment which are used in agriculture. Drivers of these vehicles are subjected to extreme vibrations generated by the engine, improper structural design of the vehicle, and/or rough and uneven road or surface conditions. Exposure to whole-body vibration from tractors has been associated with low back pain and degeneration of the intervertebral disc. Vibration leads to both voluntary and involuntary contractions of muscles and can cause local muscle fatigue. “It has been concluded that musculoskeletal injuries of the hip, buttock, neck, high and low back pain are associated with the operators of on-road and off-road vehicles (or other related equipment). These musculoskeletal disorders are developed in [the] human body due to exposure to whole-body vibration and awkward postures during operations.” (International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR); Effect of Whole-Body Vibration on Vehicle Operators: A Review)
WorkSafe Saskatchewan along with the Chiropractors’ Association of Saskatchewan has a set of warm-up and strength exercises for workers to improve and protect their back health. These guidelines can also be used by farmers to help their bodies cope with the stresses of long days in the field. It has been known for many years that whole body vibration impacts the bones and muscles of the back, but the recommendations that stemmed from those studies were, for the most part, directed towards the paid workforce and often failed to direct recommendations to the agriculture sector. Looking back at the equipment used by farmers 40+ years ago and comparing it to that used today, it’s easy to see why the older generation of farmers frequently shared a characteristic stooped posture indicative of a ‘bad’ back. Depending on the intensity of exposure, the symptoms may appear months or years after the start of the exposure.
In addition to the afflictions noted in the vertebrae and intervertebral discs, vibration exposure has been shown to cause changes in electromyographic (EMG) activity in muscles of the lower back. “EMG experiments have demonstrated that lower back muscle exhaustion increases during WBV exposure in truck driving. Decreased stability of the lower back may result from slower muscle response, perhaps increasing the risk of injuring other structures….investigations have shown that other work-related factors, including prolonged sitting, lifting, and awkward postures, may act in combination with WBV to cause back disorder.” (Musculoskeletal Disorders and Workplace Factors, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, CDC, July 1997) Nathan Fethke, Associate Professor of Occupational and Environmental Health in the College of Public Health at the University of Iowa, has said, “Any sort of equipment where an operator is in a seated position has the potential to impart mechanical vibration that could be problematic.”
With the advent of air ride seats some of the jarring impact has been removed but they may present challenges when drivers encounter bumps at moderate to high speeds. A bump amplifies the vibration when the seat strays from its ideal trajectory. (https://www.safetyandhealthmagazine.com/articles/18405-bad-vibrations-whole-body-hand-arm-risk, May 26, 2019) Whole-body vibration can cause fatigue, speech interference, increased heart rate, and blood pressure, reduced concentration, slower reaction times, headache, loss of balance, and "shakiness" shortly after or during exposure. The symptoms are similar to those that many people experience after a long car or boat trip. After daily exposure over a number of years, whole-body vibration can affect the entire body and result in a number of health disorders.
Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety in their fact sheet that was last revised in 2017, states that British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Quebec, New Brunswick, Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut have specifically mentioned vibration exposure within their occupational health and safety regulations in terms of worker health or musculoskeletal effects. Most do not regulate a specific limit to exposure but rather state that workplaces must control for vibration where it can cause health or musculoskeletal effects. However, the European Union has been studying the impacts of whole-body vibration and has enacted exposure limits for workers. Based on those recommendations the Great Plains Centre for Agricultural Health has determined some recommended daily maximum exposure limits. It might be surprising to note that after about five to six hours in a tractor, the driver will have reached the daily maximum exposure limit. That being said it is impossible to avoid operating machinery for long periods of time during seeding and harvest, but getting out of the machinery to give your body a break from the vibrations will help reduce the stress on the musculoskeletal system. Researchers recommend that every two to four hours, operators take a three-to-five-minute break. Get out of the driver’s seat, take a short walk, walk around and check the equipment, do some stretches, loosen up the muscles that may be tightening from trying to stabilize the body. For more information on Whole-Body Vibration check out Take a Break from the Shake at www.agrivita.ca
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