Frequency of postural changes during sitting whilst using a desktop computer – exploring an analytical methodology

Abstract

Background: Dynamic movement whilst sitting is advocated as a way to reduce musculoskeletal symptoms from seated activities. Conventionally, in ergonomics research, only a ‘snapshot’ of static sitting posture is captured, which does not provide information on the number or type of movements over a period of time. A novel approach to analyse the number of postural changes whist sitting was employed in order to describe the sitting behaviour of adolescents whilst undertaking computing activities. Methods: A repeated-measures observational study was conducted. A total of 12 high school students were randomly selected from a conveniently selected school. Fifteen minutes of 3D posture measurements were recorded to determine the number of postural changes whilst using computers. Results: Data of 11 students were able to be analysed. Large intra-subject variation of the median and IQR was observed, indicating frequent postural changes whilst sitting. Conclusion: Better understanding of usual dynamic postural movements whilst sitting will provide new insights into causes of musculoskeletal symptoms experienced by computer users.

Abstract

Practitioner Summary: Dynamic movement whilst sitting and operating a computer may prevent musculoskeletal pain. A new method was used to analyse usual sitting posture at a desktop computer to determine the number of postural changes whilst sitting. Better understanding of the dynamics of sitting could unlock the association with musculoskeletal symptoms experienced by many keyboard operators.

Keywords::

• posture measurement
• sitting biomechanics
• dynamism

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the Medical Research Council (MRC) for providing funding for this project.