Hand-arm vibration was originally known as ‘vibration white finger’. It is only caused by handheld equipment rather than whole body vibration.

Hand-arm vibration syndrome causes damage to the blood vessels and nerves in the arms and hands. This can result in individual fingers going white when the hand is exposed to cold and ‘pins and needles’ can occur. Damage to nerves is permanent whereas damage to blood vessels can reverse to a certain extent when taken away from cold exposure.