Massage Seating for
YOUR Vehicle by:

• From a Chiropractor - "HELP FOR TRUCKER'S FATIGUE"
• Excerpts From Selected Independent Studies
  

• Recommendations from a Transportation Industry Professional
  

HELP FOR TRUCKER'S FATIGUE - a letter from Dr. Joseph S. Oliva, B.Sc., D.C., F.C.C.R.S.(C)

"As many driver's have experienced, long hours of driving results in fatigue.  Fatigue may manifest itself as headaches, neck, back and leg pain.   This is a result of a constant load bearing on tissues.  This prolong load puts a strain on ligaments, joint capsules and discs in the spine.  The medical term for this is 'Creep', which is due to the gradual rearrangement of proteins and water in the tissues that are being stressed.  Sitting for long periods and being immobile has been demonstrated to reduce the capacity these tissues; muscles, ligaments and joint capsules of handling the constant pressure.

"Vibration for therapeutic purposes is not a novel modality.  I have personally used it in my practice for twelve years.  Everyone can appreciate the benefits of vibration/massage and now it has been introduced to the trucking industry.

"How is vibration beneficial?

"In the skin and muscles there are sensory and mechanical receptors that respond to vibration, "mechanical stimulation", this can be described as a diffuse humming feeling which is localized in the deep tissues.  These receptors can reflexively override pain sensations and cause the muscles to vary in length by a small amount resulting in relaxation.

"By changing seat positioning which effect joint receptors and loading stress in combination with vibration will result in minimizing "creep", reducing fatigue and maximizing comfort.

"Safe trucking,"

Dr. Oliva is a Chiropractor & Fellow of the College of Chiropractic Rehabilitation Sciences (Canada).  He is in private practice in Vaughan, Ontario.

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RECOMMENDATION FROM A TRANSPORTATION INDUSTRY PROFESSIONAL - a letter from Ray Brakes, Safety Director, Forbes Hewlett Transport, Inc.

"October 5,  1998

"I have been a Safety Director in the transportation industry for approximately 6 years, prior to that I was a Professional Driver for 25 years.

"Recently I was introduced to the product 'TravelALERT' through on of our Owner-Operators and would like to state that this product is a definite asset to the trucking industry.

"I believe this product would be beneficial to any driver, as it would help reduce stress and improve alertness through a Professional Drivers careen on an ongoing basis."

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EXCERPTS FROM SELECTED STUDIES - Ergonomics and Industrial Medicine Research Literature In Support of the Benefits of Pulse Massage and Vibratory Seating

The following are excerpts from various published studies correlating electro-mechanical pulse and vibratory (vibrotactile) stimulation with  relaxation, improved hemodynamics (blood circulation) and muscle pain reduction.  Copies of the complete studies are available upon request from TravelALERT or JB Research.

"Recent research suggest that vibrotactile stimulation facilitates muscle relaxation when measured by EMG... low frequency vibration (<70Hz) applied to the lower extremities tended to reduce frontalis muscle potential (Matheson, 1975L Matheson et. al. 1976)."

"Low frequency vibration to the lower extremities can be used to facilite muscle relaxation (Eklund, 1971) ."

"The prediction that vibration would facilitate relaxation as measured by EMG frontalis and subjective reporting was supported (Johnson, Hensel, Matheson, 1982)."

"These test indicated that a pulsating type seat cushion aided in maintaining blood circulation in the lower extremities of seated, inactive subjects.  Improved circulation was found to reduce subjective fatigue and feelings of discomfort in these investigation. (L. Montgomery and E. Glassford, 1978)."

"...five cases of deep leg thrombosis due to prolonged sitting.  Two followed long flights, two long auto trips, and a fifth, a two-hour performance at a theatre. (J. Homans, 1954)."

"Sixth-nine percent of the patients reported a reduction of pain during vibratory stimulation.  In most patients, the best pain reducing effect was obtained when the vibratory stimulation was applied with moderate pressure.  (T. Lundeberg, R. Nordemar and D. Ottoson, 1984)"

"The present study suggest that vibratory stimulation may represent valuable therapy in chronic pain as it reduces and in some patients, may produce a permanent relief of pain.  (T. Lundeberg, 1984)"

"High frequency stimulation (greater than 50 Hz) produced an almost immediate increase of the pain threshold...(Ekblom & Hansson, 1982)"

"The results indicate that vibration was effective in elevating pain thresholds during stimulation; in this study, the size of the area treated had no significant effect on the level of elevation of pain threshold. (T. Palmersano, 1989)"

"The results of this investigation throw light on the mechanisms of the alleviation of pain by vibration...(R. Kakigi & H. Shibasaki, 1991)"

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