Musculoskeletal disorders among visual display terminal workers: individual, ergonomic, and work organizational factors

Bergqvist, Ulf; Wolgast, E; Nilsson, Bengt; Voss, Margaretha

doi:10.1080/00140139508925148

Cited by 348 publications

(239 citation statements)

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“…For example, no association was observed with increasing time spent working with a VDU or with frequent mouse use, although two systematic reviews, including prospective studies, found convincing evidence of an increased risk of UE musculoskeletal symptoms associated with exposure to these factors 34,35) . Inadequate duration of breaks and poor supervisor support were not retained in the fully adjusted models, despite other studies finding that they consistently increased the risk of UE symptoms among CC and other office workers 10,36,37) . Also, noise exposure has never been linked, to our knowledge, to UEMSD risk, but it has been observed that the frequent presence of sudden sounds and operators' voices in CCs may act as a psychological stressor, because it makes it more difficult to understand clients during telephone 6,38,39) .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Risk Factors for Upper Extremity Musculoskeletal Symptoms among Call Center Employees

d’Errico¹,

Caputo²,

Falcone³

et al. 2010

Journal of Occupational Health

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Risk Factors for Upper Extremity Musculoskeletal Symptoms among Call Center Employees: Angelo d'ERRICO, et al. Epidemiology Unit ASL TO3-Piedmont Region, Italy-Objectives:To investigate the prevalence of musculoskeletal symptoms in the upper extremity (UE) in a sample of Italian call center (CC) operators, and the relationship between the symptoms and potential workplace risk factors. Methods: During 2005-2006, 775 workers from seven CCs in the Turin area participated in a questionnaire survey of exposure to ergonomic, organizational and psychosocial factors at work, sociodemographics, lifestyle, symptoms and diseases. Musculoskeletal symptoms were defined as selfreported musculoskeletal symptoms in the UE during the previous 28 days, for which a physician was consulted and/or drugs were taken. Relative risks were estimated through Poisson regression models with the Huber-White sandwich estimator of variance. Result: Overall, 45% of workers reported UE symptoms in the last four weeks. Symptoms in the neck were the most prevalent (39%), followed by the shoulder (22%), handwrist (10%) and elbow (4%). Among workplace risk factors, neck-shoulder symptoms were associated with low job control, elevated noise, poor desk lighting and impossibility to lean back while sitting; whereas elbowhand/wrist symptoms were associated with short intervals between calls, insufficient working space, lack of forearm support, job insecurity and long seniority in the CC industry. Conclusions: The high prevalence of UE symptoms in this sample was similar to that reported by other studies conducted in this industry. Our results confirm previously reported associations, such as poor characteristics of the workstation and psychological stressors. The striking difference between the set of risk factors for neck-shoulder and elbow/wrist-hand symptoms indicates that the two regions should be investigated separately.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Risk Factors for Upper Extremity Musculoskeletal Symptoms among Call Center Employees

d’Errico¹,

Caputo²,

Falcone³

et al. 2010

Journal of Occupational Health

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“…There is some longitudinal evidence to suggest that low back pain during childhood is a risk factor for low back pain in adulthood (Harreby et al 1995). Whilst computer-related musculoskeletal discomfort is also prevalent higher up in the spinal column and in the upper extremities (Hu¨nting et al 1981, Faucett and Rempel 1994, Bergqvist et al 1995, Sillanpa¨a¨et al 2003, similar principles are likely to apply.…”

Section: Child Computer Use May Impact On Adult Risk/ Computer Usementioning

confidence: 94%

“…Pain and musculoskeletal discomfort have been associated with computer use by adult populations (Bergqvist et al 1995, Marcus et al 2002 and there are indications that this may also be an issue for college students (Katz et al 2000, Mene´ndez et al 2007) and younger children (Harris and Straker 2000, Jacobs and Baker 2002, Williams 2002, Szeto 2003, Straker et al 2006a. Hakala et al (2006) conducted a survey study of 6003 Finnish children aged 14, 16 and 18 years.…”

Section: Musculoskeletal Problemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Principles for the wise use of computers by children

2009

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Computer use by children at home and school is now common in many countries. Child computer exposure varies with the type of computer technology available and the child's age, gender and social group. This paper reviews the current exposure data and the evidence for positive and negative effects of computer use by children. Potential positive effects of computer use by children include enhanced cognitive development and school achievement, reduced barriers to social interaction, enhanced fine motor skills and visual processing and effective rehabilitation. Potential negative effects include threats to child safety, inappropriate content, exposure to violence, bullying, Internet 'addiction', displacement of moderate/vigorous physical activity, exposure to junk food advertising, sleep displacement, vision problems and musculoskeletal problems. The case for child specific evidence-based guidelines for wise use of computers is presented based on children using computers differently to adults, being physically, cognitively and socially different to adults, being in a state of change and development and the potential to impact on later adult risk. Progress towards child-specific guidelines is reported. Finally, a set of guideline principles is presented as the basis for more detailed guidelines on the physical, cognitive and social impact of computer use by children. The principles cover computer literacy, technology safety, child safety and privacy and appropriate social, cognitive and physical development. The majority of children in affluent communities now have substantial exposure to computers. This is likely to have significant effects on child physical, cognitive and social development. Ergonomics can provide and promote guidelines for wise use of computers by children and by doing so promote the positive effects and reduce the negative effects of computer-child, and subsequent computer-adult, interaction.

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“…The continuous activation of muscles of the arms, shoulder girdle, neck and trunk to maintain a quasi-static position to allow the hands and arms to operate the keyboard has been proposed as one of the causal factors of neck/ shoulder and arm/hand diagnoses (Bergqvist et al, 1995).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effect of wrist rests and forearm support during keyboard and mouse use

Cook

Burgess-Limerick

Papalia

2004

International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics

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Supporting the forearm on the work surface during keyboard operation may increase comfort, decrease muscular load of the neck and shoulders, and decrease the time spent in ulnar deviation. Wrist rests are used widely in the workplace and are more commonly being incorporated in keyboard design. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of wrist rest use on wrist posture during forearm support. A laboratory based, experimental study was conducted (subjects n ¼ 15) to examine muscle activity and wrist postures during keyboard and mouse tasks in each of two conditions; wrist rest and no wrist rest. There were no significant differences for right wrist flexion/extension between use of a wrist rest and no wrist rest for keyboard or mouse use. Left wrist extension was significantly higher without a wrist rest than with a wrist rest during keyboard use (df=14; t ¼ 2:95; p ¼ 0:01; d ¼ 0:38). No differences with respect to use of a wrist rest were found for the left or right hand for ulnar deviation for keyboard or mouse use. There were no differences in muscle activity between the test conditions for keyboard use. Relevance to industryWrist rests are used widely in the workplace and are more commonly being incorporated in keyboard design. Use of a wrist rest in conjunction with forearm support when using a conventional desk does not appear to have any impact on wrist posture or muscle activity during keyboard use. r

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Musculoskeletal disorders among visual display terminal workers: individual, ergonomic, and work organizational factors

Cited by 348 publications

References 0 publications

Risk Factors for Upper Extremity Musculoskeletal Symptoms among Call Center Employees

Risk Factors for Upper Extremity Musculoskeletal Symptoms among Call Center Employees

Principles for the wise use of computers by children

The effect of wrist rests and forearm support during keyboard and mouse use

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