Abstract
BACKGROUND In Indonesia, primary school begins at 6 years old and continues until 12, where most of their growth is experienced at that age. Non-ergonomic school furniture can harm the musculoskeletal system. This study evaluates the suitability of chair dimensions to elementary school student’s anthropometry in North Jakarta. METHODSA cross-sectional study of 98 students in North Jakarta. Chair dimension data and student anthropometry were measured using a tape measure, which was then analyzed using the Chi-Square Goodness of Fit Test to evaluate their suitability. RESULTSThe ages of the students ranged from 5 to 11 years. Anthropometric measurements of students show that the mean Sitting Shoulder Height is 41.81±4.36 cm, Popliteal Height 36.83±3.77 cm, Hip Breadth 25.88±3.47 cm, and Buttock-Popliteal Length 36.56±4.33 cm. While the average size assessed from the seat dimensions is Seat Height 41.71±0.22 cm, Seat Width 37.2±1.26 cm, Seat Depth 37.2±1.42 cm, and Backrest Height Above Seat 35.54±3.19 cm. The results of Goodness of Fit with Kendall's Tau-b critical value for the suitability of chair dimensions to student anthropometry were 0.37, and vice versa 0.672, which stated a discrepancy. CONCLUSIONThere is a mismatch between chair dimension and anthropometry of elementary school students in North Jakarta. Adjustment of chair dimensions needs to be done using a student's average size approach to prevent musculoskeletal disorders.
Highlights
Low back pain is a symptom due to disruption or disturbance in the arrangement and movement of the back’s components, such as spine, muscles, intervertebral discs, and nerves.(1) Based on a systematic analysis conducted by Mboi et al(2), low back pain ranks in the top four due to its high impact on disability
There is a mismatch between chair dimension and anthropometry of elementary school students in North Jakarta
Adjustments were made to the chair dimension and anthropometric data obtained, as recommended by Castellucci et al(15) study, on calculating ergonomic measures range that need to be adjusted to student anthropometry (Table 2)
Summary
Low back pain is a symptom due to disruption or disturbance in the arrangement and movement of the back’s components, such as spine, muscles, intervertebral discs, and nerves.(1) Based on a systematic analysis conducted by Mboi et al(2), low back pain ranks in the top four due to its high impact on disability. Low back pain is more common in adult, the rising complaint in school-age children cannot be neglected. One of the causes of low back pain in school-age children is the wrong sitting posture for a long time and excessive backpack load. (1,3) Several previous studies found quite high prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders in students from different age groups. In Portuguese children, the prevalence of kyphosis, lordosis, and scoliosis are 16.6%, 27.9%, and 33.2%, respectively. Lordosis was found to be more frequent at age 8 to 12 years, while scoliosis was more frequent in boys than girls.(4) In Indonesia, people have to attend school since they are six years old, as stated in the Law of the Republic Indonesia Number 20 of 2003 Chapter VIII Article 34 concerning Compulsory Education.(5). This study evaluates the suitability of chair dimensions to elementary school student’s anthropometry in North Jakarta
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