A comparison of muscle activity, posture and body discomfort during the use of different computer screen sizes

Abstract

This study aims to compare changes in neck angles, muscle activities, ergonomic risk and body discomfort caused by use of two different computer screen sizes. The 36 female users who participated used displays with 46.99 and 58.42-cm screen sizes and were assessed for craniocervical angle (CCA), craniovertebral angle (CVA), upper trapezius (UT) and sternocleidomastoid (SCM) muscle activity, ergonomic risk and body discomfort for a duration of 1 h. The results showed there were no significant differences when comparing usage between both computer screen sizes (p > 0.05). However, there were significant differences in the CCA, UT muscle activity and body discomfort when comparing before and after usage for both computer screen sizes (p < 0.05). The results indicate that computer users can select different screen sizes for working but should be concerned with neck angle, muscle activity and body discomfort when using for long periods of time.

Keywords:

• electromyography
• neck angle
• ergonomic assessment
• computer screen size
• computer use

Acknowledgement

This work was supported by the Research Institute of Health Sciences, Walailak University, Nakhon Si Thammarat Province, Thailand. The under-Grant number was WU-IRG-63-049.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Walailak University [Grant Number WU-IRG-63-049].