A comparison of upper body kinematics and muscle activation between sit and stand computer workstation configuration

Abstract

Very few studies considered the movement constraints imposed by the computer workstation during office computer work. The impact of computer workstation on user’s muscle and joint coordination is not yet understood. This study examined three workstation configurations (sitting and standing with elbow desk height, and sitting with elevated desk) and analyzed their corresponding posture, muscle effort and inter-joint and muscle coordination. We found that sitting computer workstation with an elevated desk associated with more non-neutral postures and increased muscle load, particularly on the shoulders. Properly set up sitting and standing workstations resulted in similar median values for postures and muscle loads, but standing workstation allowed for greater muscle dynamic ranges and could be beneficial for short duration mouse tasks. Identifying effects of non-optimal configurations can lead to interventions to help decrease risks of developing musculoskeletal disorders.