Development of a device to alert for breaks to prevent musculoskeletal disorders in the neck and low back among office workers

Abstract

The objective of this thesis was to develop a device to alert for breaks to prevent musculoskeletal disorders in the neck and low back among office workers. This thesis was divided into four stages: 1) systematically review to gain insights into the effectiveness of breaks on low back pain, discomfort, and work productivity in office workers; 2) evaluation of the characteristics of perceived discomfort and postural shifts during a 4-hour sitting period; 3) evaluation of the effects of a device to alert for active breaks on preventing neck and low back pain among office workers: 6- and 12-month follow-up; and 4) evaluation of the incidences of neck and low back pain and working from home related risk factors during the COVID-19 outbreak among office workers. The results from systematic review revealed that breaks are recommended for reducing low back pain and discomfort with no disturbance in work productivity among office workers. The type of rest breaks that may be effective in reducing low back pain and discomfort was identified, namely active breaks with postural change. In the second study, our findings suggest that prolonged sitting for longer than 30 minutes possibly increase the risk of neck and low back pain, which used to develop the device to alert for breaks. The device to alert for break was developed by the author and engineering team, which consists of three components: seat pad, controller and smartphone application. This device can detect sitting time and recommend break duration during work to the user. The device had good to excellent validity and consistency. The results of the effectiveness of the device on preventing neck and low back pain showed that office workers who received the device to alert for breaks significantly reduced the 6- and 12-month incidence rate of neck and low back pain. In addition, the incidence of neck and low back pain during the COVID-19 period was lower than that for during the pre-COVID-19 period. The number of days working from home per week was associated with the incidence of neck and low back pain during COVID-19 period.