10
Vibration and cold
It is believed that a condition called Raynaud's Phenomenon, which affects the fingers of
certain individuals, may be brought about by exposure to cold and vibration.
Exposure to cold and vibration may cause tingling and burning followed by loss of colour and
numbness in the fingers.
The following precautions are strongly recommended because the minimum exposure which
might trigger the ailment is unknown.
Keep your body warm, especially the head and neck, feet and ankles, and hands and
wrists.
Maintain good blood circulation by performing vigorous arm exercises during frequent work
breaks and also by not smoking.
Limit the number of hours of operation.
Try to fill each day with jobs where operating the trimmer or other hand-held power
equipment is not required.
If you experience discomfort, redness and swelling of the fingers, followed by whitening and
loss of feeling, consult your physician before further exposing yourself to cold and vibration.
Repetitive stress injuries
Painful or numb fingers?
See your doctor immediately!
It is believed that over-using the muscles and tendons of the fingers, hands, arms and
shoulders may cause soreness, swelling, numbness, weakness and extreme pain to the
areas just mentioned.
Certain repetitive hand activities may put you at a high risk for developing a repetitive stress
injury (RSI).
To reduce the risk of repetitive stress injury, do the following:
Avoid using your wrist in a bent, extended or twisted position.
Take periodic breaks to minimize repetition and rest your hands.
Reduce the speed and force in which you do the repetitive movement.
Do exercises to strengthen the hand and arm muscles.
See a doctor if you feel tingling, numbness or pain in the fingers, hands, wrists or arms.
The sooner RSI is diagnosed, the more likely permanent nerve and muscle damage can be
prevented.
