The amount of postural change experienced by adolescent computer users developing seated -related upper quadrant musculoskeletal pain

Effect of Covid-19 lockdown/ compulsory work from home (WFH) situation on musculoskeletal disorders in India

OBJECTIVE

To estimate self-reported musculoskeletal disorders among Indian population in work from home COVID-19 lockdown and its association on various socio-demographic and occupational factors among them.

METHODS

The present cross-sectional study was conducted on working Indian professionals, through an online self-reported survey during the COVID-19 work from the home situation. Details about the perceived musculoskeletal discomforts, weight gain or loss, physical activity profile, number of working hours, total sedentary time, and satisfaction perceived with working from home were recorded from the participant responses and thereafter analyzed.

RESULTS

A total of 281 responses were analyzed. 47.6% of respondents reported musculoskeletal disorders before lockdown, whereas 53.6% reported them during the lockdown period. 10% of respondents reported declination in physical activity. Finding of the chi-square for association and Spearman's rho correlation analysis suggested that gender, pre-existing musculoskeletal discomforts, current sedentary time, and long working hours are significantly associated with musculoskeletal discomforts during work from home COVID-19 lockdown.

CONCLUSION

This study concluded the increment in the self-reported musculoskeletal disorders among working Indian professionals during work from home COVID-19 lockdown. The study also found the significant association between MSD and gender, working hours, sedentary time and pre-existing musculoskeletal discomforts.

The Kinematic and Kinetic Responses of the Trunk and Lower Extremity Joints during Walking with and without the Spinal Orthosis

Spinal orthoses are an effective option for restoring the spine to its original position and controlling poor posture. However, the effects of poor posture and spinal orthoses on the kinematics and kinetics of trunk and lower extremity joints remain unclear. A six-camera Vicon motion capture system and two AMTI force plates were employed to collect gait parameters, including joint angle (spine, thorax, hip, knee, and ankle), range of motion (ROM), and ground reaction forces (GRFs). Furthermore, joint moments and joint reaction forces (JRFs) were calculated using a full-body musculoskeletal model in OpenSim. One-way repeated-measures ANOVA (p < 0.05) was used to compare significant differences among three trial conditions. These three conditions were walking in a normal posture, poor posture, and spinal orthosis. The results showed that spine ROM in the coronal and transverse plane was significantly lower when walking with a spinal orthosis compared to walking in normal and poor posture (p < 0.05). Compared to normal posture, the lumbar moments and back compressive forces were significantly increased when walking in poor posture (p < 0.05). However, when walking with a spinal orthosis, there was a significant decrease in trunk moments and reaction forces compared to walking in poor posture (p < 0.05). Individuals with poor posture could potentially induce instability and disorders, as evidenced by an increase in trunk moments and JRF compared to the normal posture. Spinal orthosis not only restricts spine ROM but also reduces the load on the spine and thus increases balance and stability.

Sagittal imbalance of the spine is associated with poor sitting posture among primary and secondary school students in China: a cross-sectional study

Background

Long-term poor posture may affect the morphological development of the spine. However, there is no definite answer as to how writing posture affects students’ spine. This study attempted to compare the sagittal curvature of the spine between sitting and standing postures in adolescents to reveal the variation rule of spinal sagittal curvature of students with learning posture, and to discover the key factors that may affect students’ spinal health.

Methods

1138 participants (male, 604; female, 534; age range, 6–18 years) from three schools in Tianjin, China, including 570 primary school students and 568 secondary school students. This study used SpineScan and PA200 Station Posture Assessment System to assess the sagittal curvature of the spine for three postures: sitting on a chair in upright position, seated at a desk while reading/writing, and standing in natural relaxed position. Analyze the difference between spine angle of the three postures and the correlation between the sagittal plane angle of the spine and body posture.

Results

The mean sagittal angle of the spine changed when the participants were in reading/writing position compared to standing position, with the lumbar lordosis angle significantly decreased (p < 0.05) and the thoracic kyphosis angle significantly increased (p < 0.05). The TKA and LLA angles were abnormal in 33 and 52% of students in reading/writing posture respectively. There was a significant correlation between sitting posture and standing spinal Angle and were positively correlated with the height of the teenager (p < 0.05). By contrast, a higher percentage of TKA and LLA subjects in the standard reading/writing posture reference range maintained normal spinal shape while standing.

Conclusions

The angle of thoracic kyphosis significantly increased from standing posture to upright sitting, reading/writing posture, while lumbar lordosis significantly decreased or even disappeared. There was a significant correlation between sagittal angle of spine in different postures. The poor sitting posture associated with sagittal angle abnormalities impact the shape of the spine such that sagittal imbalance was also observed when students in natural standing posture. Height is an important factor affecting the sitting spine shape of students.

Sedentary behavior is associated with musculoskeletal pain in adolescents: A cross sectional study

BACKGROUND

High prevalence of back pain has been observed in adolescents. Sedentary behavior (SB) is considered a risk factor for musculoskeletal pain. The association between back pain and SB in the pediatric/adolescent population is not well established.

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the association between SB and low back and neck pain in adolescents according to sex.

METHODS

This is a cross-sectional study with children and adolescents aged 10-17 years, randomly recruited from public and private schools in Presidente Prudente, Brazil. All students enrolled in the selected schools were eligible to participate. SB was evaluated by adding the number of hours of use of screen devices, such as television, computer, video game, and smartphone/tablet. To assess neck and low back pain, the Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire was used. Physical activity and socioeconomic status were assessed by the Baecke Questionnaire and the Brazilian Criteria for Economic Classification (ABEP), respectively. Odds ratio (OR) from Binary Logistic Regression in the unadjusted and adjusted model (physical activity, abdominal obesity, and socioeconomic status) showed the relationship between musculoskeletal pain and SB.

RESULTS

A total of 1011 adolescents (557 girls) with a mean ± standard deviation age of 13.2±2.4 years were included. Moderate (OR = 1.80; 95%CI: 1.00, 3.23) and high (OR = 1.91; 95%CI: 1.02, 3.53) SB were associated with neck pain in girls. In boys, moderate SB [OR = 2.75; 95%CI: 1.31, 5.78) were associated with neck pain. Moderate (OR = 2.73; 95%CI: 1.45, 5.02) and high (OR = 2.49; 95%CI: 1.30, 4.76) SB were associated with low back pain only in girls.

CONCLUSION

Moderate and high SB were associated with neck pain in girls and boys, while moderate and high SB were associated with low back pain only in girls.

Craniocervical flexion performance in computer users: An observational study

Study aim: To compare the performance of deep cervical flexors (DCF) among computer users (CU) and non-users using the craniocervical flexion test (CCFT).

Material and methods: Eighty nine computer users and 100 non-users were recruited for evaluation of their craniocervical muscle performance. The activation score and performance index were assessed using the CCFT. Comparison of craniocervical flexor performance between the two groups was evaluated using the Mann Whitney test. A Chi-Square test was used to test the association between age, years of work and craniocervical flexion. Significance was set at p ≤ 0.05.

Results: The median activation score was lower among computer users (median pressure-24 mmHg as compared to non-users (median pressure-28 mmHg) (p < 0.01). The performance index among computer users was lower when compared to non-users. Also, age (p < 0.001) and the years of work experience (p = 0.006) were associated with the DCF performance.

Conclusion: CU have lower activation and endurance of the DCF compared to non-users. The endurance of the DCF was associated with the age and years of computer usage.

Analyzing Spinal Shape Changes During Posture Training Using a Wearable Device

Lower back pain is one of the most prevalent diseases in Western societies. A large percentage of European and American populations suffer from back pain at some point in their lives. One successful approach to address lower back pain is postural training, which can be supported by wearable devices, providing real-time feedback about the user’s posture. In this work, we analyze the changes in posture induced by postural training. To this end, we compare snapshots before and after training, as measured by the Gokhale SpineTracker™. Considering pairs of before and after snapshots in different positions (standing, sitting, and bending), we introduce a feature space, that allows for unsupervised clustering. We show that resulting clusters represent certain groups of postural changes, which are meaningful to professional posture trainers.