Documents Hermans, Veerle 3 results

Subjective muscular fatigue was evaluated for 10 female VDT workers over a working day; 5 workers had previous musculoskeletal problems in the shoulder-neck region, 5 had not. Electromyographic activity of the upper right and left trapezius was measured. The subjective scores for the shoulder were significantly higher for the group with complaints. The activity of the trapezius increased for both groups, with no significant differences between the groups. A reduction in load intensity by the introduction of frequent short breaks in continuous activity should be considered even for tasks with low static loads.

"The relation between lipoatrophia semicircularis (LS--band-like circular depressions and isolated atrophy of the subcutaneous fatty tissue on the anterior thighs and sitting posture or pressure on the seat surface of office chairs was investigated in an office environment. A questionnaire was presented to 21 subjects and electromyographic measurements, video analysis and pressure measurements were performed. Remarkable posture differences between the LS group and the group without LS were found: less use of the lumbar support of the chair, static sitting postures and a too high seat surface of the office chair were characteristics of the subjects with LS. These observations were confirmed by higher pressure measurements for the subjects with LS. In addition, highly significant pressure differences were found between different chairs."