This paper describes the literature and two experiments on the evaluation of head and neck postures. It is concluded that health and safety professionals and ergonomists during posture evaluation should consider neck flexion/extension (head vs. trunk), besides the traditionally used inclination of the head and/or neck segment (head/neck vs. gravity).
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AnderssonG. B. J.ÖrtengrenR. (1974) Myoelectric back muscle activity during sitting. Scandinavian Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine, Suppl.3, 73–90.
2.
AnderssonG.B.J.ÖrtengrenR.NachemsonR.ElfströMG. (1974). Lumbar disc pressure and myoelectric back muscle activity during sitting: I. Studies on an experimental chair. Scandinavian Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine, 6, 104–114.
3.
BendixT.HagbergM. (1984). Trunk posture and load on the trapezius muscle whilst sitting at sloping desks. Ergonomics, 27, 873–882.
4.
ChaffinD.B. (1973). Localized muscle fatigue - definition and measurement. Journal of Occupational Medicine, 15, 346–354.
5.
DellemanN.J. (1999). Working postures – prediction and evaluation. PhD Thesis.
6.
GrandjeanE.NishiyamaK.HüntingW.PidermanM. (1982). A laboratory study on preferred and imposed settings of a VDT workstation. Behaviour and Information Technology, 1, 289–304.
7.
Harms-RingdahlK.SchüldtK. (1988). Maximum neck extension strength and relative neck muscular load in different cervical spine positions. Clinical Biomechanics, 4, 17–24.
HüntingW.LäubliTh.GrandjeanE. (1981). Postural and visual loads at VDT workplaces: I. Constrained postures. Ergonomics, 24, 917–931.
10.
KilbomÅ.PerssonJ.JonssonB. (1986). Risk factors for work-related disorders of the neck and shoulder - with special emphasis on working postures and movements. In CorlettE.N.WilsonJ.ManenicaI., The ergonomics of working postures (pp. 44–53). London, etc.: Taylor & Francis.
11.
KumarS. (1994). A computer desk for bifocal lens wearers, with special emphasis on selected telecommunication tasks. Ergonomics, 37, 1669–167.
12.
LeeK.S.WaikarA.M.AghazadehF.TandonS. (1986). An electromyographic investigation of neck angles for microscopists. In Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 30th annual meeting (pp. 548–551). Santa Monica CA, USA: The Human Factors Society.
13.
LepoutreF.X.RogerD.LosleverP. (1986). Experimental analysis of a visuo-postural system in an office workstation. In CorlettE.N.WilsonJ.ManenicaI., The ergonomics of working postures (pp. 363–371). London, etc.: Taylor & Francis.
14.
LindbergM.Frisk-KempeK.LinderhedH.EklundJ. (1993). Musculoskeletal disorders, posture, and EMG temporal pattern in fabric-seaming tasks. International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics, 11, 267–276.
15.
NakasekoM.MorimotoK.NishiyamaK.TainakaH. (1993). An image analysing approach to working postures for screen and keyboard use of visual display units. In LuczakH.ÇakirA.ÇakirG., Work with display units 92 (pp. 235–239). Amsterdam, London, New York, and Tokyo: North-Holland, Elsevier Science Publishers B.V.
16.
SchüldtK.EkholmJ.Harms-RingdahlK.ArboreliusU.P.NémethG. (1986). Influence of sitting postures on neck and shoulder e.m.g. during arm-hand work movements. Clinical Biomechanics, 2, 126–139.
17.
SchüldtK.EkholmJ.Harms-RingdahlK.NémethG.ArboreliusU.P. (1986). Effects of changes in sitting posture on static neck and shoulder muscle activity. Ergonomics, 29, 1525–1537.
18.
SnijdersC.J.Van DijkeHoek G.A.RooschE.R. (1991). A biomechanical model for the analysis of the cervical spine in static postures. Journal of Biomechanics, 24, 783–792.
