Abstract
Office workers are exposed to high levels of sedentary time. In addition to cardio-vascular and metabolic health risks, this sedentary time may have musculoskeletal and/or cognitive impacts on office workers. Participants (n = 20) undertook two hours of laboratory-based sitting computer work to investigate changes in discomfort and cognitive function (sustained attention and problem solving), along with muscle fatigue, movement and mental state. Over time, discomfort increased in all body areas (total body IRR [95% confidence interval]: 1.43 [1.33–1.53]) reaching clinically meaningful levels in the low back and hip/thigh/buttock areas. Creative problem solving errors increased (β = 0.25 [0.03–1.47]) while sustained attention did not change. There was no change in erector spinae, trapezius, rectus femoris, biceps femoris and external oblique median frequency or amplitude; low back angle changed towards less lordosis, pelvis movement increased, and mental state deteriorated. There were no substantial correlations between discomfort and cognitive function. The observed changes suggest prolonged sitting may have consequences for musculoskeletal discomfort and cognitive function and breaks to interrupt prolonged sitting are recommended.
Highlights
A rapidly increasing body of evidence supports an association between sedentary behaviour and the risk of adverse health outcomes [1]
Pairwise comparisons showed the clinically meaningful discomfort increases from baseline that were apparent by 90 or 120 min were statistically significant for the low back (120 min incident rate ratio (IRR) = 4.20, p ≤ 0.001) and hip/thigh/buttock (90 min: IRR = 14.67; 120 min IRR = 19.75, p ≤ 0.001)
The current study found a decline in cognitive function over prolonged sitting in the form of increased creative problem solving errors, performance in generating unique designs did not change over time and there was no change in sustained attention
Summary
A rapidly increasing body of evidence supports an association between sedentary behaviour and the risk of adverse health outcomes [1]. These include negative cardiometabolic outcomes such as type two diabetes [2], and some cancers [3]. As sedentary (e.g., office) jobs become more prevalent [5] the health risks for office workers are an increasing concern for society and industry. The impacts of prolonged sitting on musculoskeletal discomfort across the body and on cognitive function are not yet clear. Prolonged sitting is a potential hazard for workers’ musculoskeletal health [7,8]. For the low back there is mixed evidence regarding the association between sitting at work and low back pain [9,10]
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