Abstract
BackgroundIt is assumed that good postural alignment is associated with the less likelihood of musculoskeletal pain symptoms. Encouraging good sitting postures have not reported consequent musculoskeletal pain reduction in school-based populations, possibly due to a lack of clear understanding of good posture. Therefore this paper describes the variability of postural angles in a cohort of asymptomatic high-school students whilst working on desk-top computers in a school computer classroom and to report on the relationship between the postural angles and age, gender, height, weight and computer use.MethodsThe baseline data from a 12 month longitudinal study is reported. The study was conducted in South African school computer classrooms. 194 Grade 10 high-school students, from randomly selected high-schools, aged 15–17 years, enrolled in Computer Application Technology for the first time, asymptomatic during the preceding month, and from whom written informed consent were obtained, participated in the study. The 3D Posture Analysis Tool captured five postural angles (head flexion, neck flexion, cranio-cervical angle, trunk flexion and head lateral bend) while the students were working on desk-top computers. Height, weight and computer use were also measured. Individual and combinations of postural angles were analysed.Results944 Students were screened for eligibility of which the data of 194 students are reported. Trunk flexion was the most variable angle. Increased neck flexion and the combination of increased head flexion, neck flexion and trunk flexion were significantly associated with increased weight and BMI (p = 0.0001).ConclusionsHigh-school students sit with greater ranges of trunk flexion (leaning forward or reclining) when using the classroom computer. Increased weight is significantly associated with increased sagittal plane postural angles.
Highlights
It is assumed that good postural alignment is associated with the less likelihood of musculoskeletal pain symptoms
High-school students sit with greater ranges of trunk flexion when using the classroom computer
Increased weight is significantly associated with increased sagittal plane postural angles
Summary
It is assumed that good postural alignment is associated with the less likelihood of musculoskeletal pain symptoms. It. Adolescence is the time of critical skeletal growth in the vertebral column, making them vulnerable to musculoskeletal pain if neutral sitting postures are not supported in schools [9,10,11]. Over the last five years, there has been a dramatic increase in the use of information computer technology by high-school students in South Africa [12]. Their vulnerability to musculoskeletal pain from spinal growth spurts may well be increased by exposure to poor sitting postures if they occur with computer use [13]
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