A quantitative meta-analytic examination of whole-body vibration effects on human performance

Abstract

Whole-body vibration exerts a substantive influence in many work environments. The primary objective for this work was to quantify such effects by identifying those moderating variables that influence the degree to which performance is affected. To achieve this, a comprehensive meta-analysis was conducted, which synthesized the existing research evidence. A total of 224 papers and reports were identified and, from these 115 effect sizes were derived from 13 experiments that survived the screening procedure. Results indicate that vibration acts to degrade the majority of goal-related activities, especially those with high demands on visual perception and fine motor control. Gaps in the current research literature are identified and suggestions offered with regard to a more theoretically-driven approach to testing vibration effects on human performance.

Keywords:

• Whole-body vibration
• Human performance
• Stress
• Meta-analysis

Acknowledgement

The research reported in this document was performed in connection with contract DAAD19–01-C-0065 with the US Army Research Laboratory. The views and conclusions contained in this document are those of the authors and should not be interpreted as presenting the official policies or position, either expressed or implied, of the US Army Research Laboratory or the US Government unless so designated by other authorized documents. Citation of manufacturer's or trade names does not constitute an official endorsement or approval of the use thereof. The US Government is authorized to reproduce and distribute reprints for government purposes notwithstanding any copyright notation hereon. The authors would like to thank Mr. John Lockett and Ms. Sue Archer for providing administration and technical direction, in addition to comments on the present work.

This work was facilitated by the Department of Defense Multi disciplinary University Research Initiative (MURI) program, P.A. Hancock, Principal Investigator, administered by the Army Research Office under grant DAAD19–01–1-0621. The views expressed in this work are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect official Army policy. The authors wish to thank Dr. Sherry Tove, Dr. Elmar Schmeisser and Dr. Mike Drillings for providing administrative and technical direction for the Grant.

We would also like to acknowledge Ms. Jennifer Ross and Mrs. Bonnie Saxton for their assistance in the collection and coding of articles for the meta-analysis. We would like to thank Dr. Bob Kennedy and Dr. John Guignard for their expertise and commentary on our project. Finally, we wish to thank the unknown reviewers of this work, whose insightful comments were significantly helpful in revising this paper.