Posture variation among office workers when using different information and communication technologies at work and away from work

Office workers perform tasks using different information and communication technologies (ICT) involving various postures. Adequate variation in postures and muscle activity is generally believed to protect against musculoskeletal complaints, but insufficient information exists regarding the effect o...

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Main Authors: Ciccarelli, Marina, Straker, Leon, Mathiassen, Svend, Pollock, Clare
Format: Journal Article
Published: Taylor & Francis Ltd. 2014
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/40108
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author Ciccarelli, Marina
Straker, Leon
Mathiassen, Svend
Pollock, Clare
author_facet Ciccarelli, Marina
Straker, Leon
Mathiassen, Svend
Pollock, Clare
author_sort Ciccarelli, Marina
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Office workers perform tasks using different information and communication technologies (ICT) involving various postures. Adequate variation in postures and muscle activity is generally believed to protect against musculoskeletal complaints, but insufficient information exists regarding the effect on postural variation of using different ICT. Thus, this study among office workers aimed to determine and compare postures and postural variation associated with using distinct types of ICT. Upper arm, head and trunk postures of 24 office workers were measured with the Physiometer R over a whole day in their natural work and away-from-work environments. Postural variation was quantified using two indices: APDF(90-10) and EVA(sd). Various ICT had different postural means and variation. Paper-based tasks had more non-neutral, yet also more variable postures. Electronics-based tasks had more neutral postures, with less postural variability. Tasks simultaneously using paper- and electronics-based ICT had least neutral and least variable postures. Tasks without ICT usually had the most posture variability. Interspersing tasks involving different ICT could increase overall exposure variation among office workers and may thus contribute to musculoskeletal risk reduction.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-401082017-09-13T14:01:05Z Posture variation among office workers when using different information and communication technologies at work and away from work Ciccarelli, Marina Straker, Leon Mathiassen, Svend Pollock, Clare exposure variation analysis ICT APDF posture Office workers perform tasks using different information and communication technologies (ICT) involving various postures. Adequate variation in postures and muscle activity is generally believed to protect against musculoskeletal complaints, but insufficient information exists regarding the effect on postural variation of using different ICT. Thus, this study among office workers aimed to determine and compare postures and postural variation associated with using distinct types of ICT. Upper arm, head and trunk postures of 24 office workers were measured with the Physiometer R over a whole day in their natural work and away-from-work environments. Postural variation was quantified using two indices: APDF(90-10) and EVA(sd). Various ICT had different postural means and variation. Paper-based tasks had more non-neutral, yet also more variable postures. Electronics-based tasks had more neutral postures, with less postural variability. Tasks simultaneously using paper- and electronics-based ICT had least neutral and least variable postures. Tasks without ICT usually had the most posture variability. Interspersing tasks involving different ICT could increase overall exposure variation among office workers and may thus contribute to musculoskeletal risk reduction. 2014 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/40108 10.1080/00140139.2014.945493 Taylor & Francis Ltd. fulltext
spellingShingle exposure variation analysis
ICT
APDF
posture
Ciccarelli, Marina
Straker, Leon
Mathiassen, Svend
Pollock, Clare
Posture variation among office workers when using different information and communication technologies at work and away from work
title Posture variation among office workers when using different information and communication technologies at work and away from work
title_full Posture variation among office workers when using different information and communication technologies at work and away from work
title_fullStr Posture variation among office workers when using different information and communication technologies at work and away from work
title_full_unstemmed Posture variation among office workers when using different information and communication technologies at work and away from work
title_short Posture variation among office workers when using different information and communication technologies at work and away from work
title_sort posture variation among office workers when using different information and communication technologies at work and away from work
topic exposure variation analysis
ICT
APDF
posture
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/40108