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Effect of Texting/Web Browsing with A Mobile Phone while Sitting/ Standing on Upper Body: Risk Factors for Musculoskeletal Disorders

Philippe Gorce, Johan Merbah, Julien Jacquier-Bret

Background: The increasing use of smartphones in everyday life has been identified as an important risk factor for developing musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) in the neck and upper extremities.

Methods: Objective and quantitative posture evaluation adopted by smartphone users has been conducted. 3D upper body kinematics of 12 participants were recorded when performing two common smartphone tasks (texting and web browsing) while sitting and standing. The risk of developing musculoskeletal disorders was assessed using the Rapid upper Limb assessment (RULA) and the postural Loading on Upper Body Assessment (LUBA).

Results: Results shown that neck flexion and shoulder elevation were higher in the standing position (about 8° and 2° respectively) and that trunk and shoulder flexion were higher in the sitting position (about 5° and 7° respectively). Ulnar deviation was measured regardless of the experimental conditions. However, no task effect was observed. The ergonomic scores obtained with the RULA were 2-3 and 9-10 with the LUBA, i.e. long-term MSDs risk.

Conclusion: The kinematic results, coupled with the MSDs risk assessment tools, showed that all the upper body joints are involved to a greater or lesser extent in occurrence of MSDs, depending on the interaction condition.