Mismatch in body-chair dimensions and the associated musculoskeletal pain among selected undergraduate students in Ghana

Abstract

Purpose: To assess the misfit in body-chair dimensions ith regard to the occurrence of musculoskeletal pain among undergraduates. Methods: Selected undergraduate students of School of Allied Health Sciences University of Ghana, participated in this study. The popliteal height, buttock-popliteal length and the hip breadth of the students ere measured in sitting using retractable tape measure. The corresponding seat height, seat depth and seat idth of three fixed-style lecture hall chairs ere similarly measured and the average scores ere determined. Mismatch or fit in body-chair dimension ere calculated through a standard rule. The associated musculoskeletal pain as reported by the participants as assessed using numerical rating scale. Data ere analyzed ith percentage, mean, standard deviation and Krukas-allis test at p < 0.05. Results: A total of 126 students ith mean age 22 ± 01 years ere recruited. The mean popliteal height, buttock-popliteal length and hip breadth of the students ere 40.8(4.5), 46.8(4.6) and 35.3(3.3) cm, respectively hile the corresponding average chair dimensions for seat height, seat depth and seat idth ere 52.0, 51.0 and 53.0 cm, respectively. Appreciable number of the students mismatched the lecture hall chair at the three levels of study. About 114 (90.5%) of the students attributed their pain to the study chairs in hich 40 (31.7%) and 38 (30.2%) ere in their fourth and second years of study, respectively. Loer back pain as the most prevalent (38.6%) among the sampled students. Conclusion: The large proportion of the incompatibility indicated that the school chairs ere not designed based on anthropometric dimensions, thus giving insight into the source of the pain. © World Scientific Publishing Company.