Musculoskeletal disorders and office automation: impact of office furniture on posture and upper limb muscle solicitation Abstract A team from the IRSST wanted to document the impact of three types of furniture on upper limb muscle solicitation and posture. They wanted to determine whether the use of height-adjustable furniture providing support for forearms on the work surface would reduce muscle solicitation while minimizing the impact on upper limb posture. Eighteen volunteers, alternately using the keyboard and the mouse, participated in the furniture comparison. The result was that the use of a forearm support may be beneficial for the neck-shoulder region at the expense of the wrist-forearm region. An interesting alternative could therefore be office furniture that allows mouse work with the forearm alternatively supported and unsupported. This would allow an alternation between the greatest solicitations of the forearm muscles and neck-shoulder muscles, offering intermittent rest periods. Produced Under this Project Scientific Reports Musculoskeletal disorders and computer work: the impact of workstation layout on posture and muscle load of the upper limbs Research Report: R-325, R-445 Scientific Publications Comparison of three computer office desks : impact on posture and muscle load of the upper limbDelisle A., Christian Larivière, Plamondon A., Imbeau D.Source : in Proceedings of the XVth Triennal Congress of the International Ergonomics Association and the joint 7th Conference of the Ergonomics Society of Korea / Japan Ergonomics Society (15th : August, 24-29, 2003 : Seoul, Korea), 2003The effect of sampling frequency on EMG measures of occupational mechanical exposureChristian Larivière, Delisle A., Plamondon A.Source : Journal of Electromyography and Kinesiology, vol. 15, no 2, 2005, p. 200-209Comparison of three computer office workstations offering forearm support: impact on upper limb posture and muscle activationDelisle A., Christian Larivière, Plamondon A., Imbeau D.Source : Ergonomics, vol. 49, no 2, 2006, p. 139-160Aménagement de postes de travail informatisés : deux études de casDelisle A.Source : in Congrès francophone sur les TMS, (1er : 30-31 mai, 2005 : Nancy, France), 2005The effect of forearm support during computer work : a field studyDelisle A., Christian Larivière, Plamondon A., Jetté C., Marchand D., Stock S.Source : in Proceedings of the 16th World Congress of the International Ergonomics Association / IEA (16th : July 10-14, 2006 : Maastricht, Netherlands), CD-ROM, Pikaar, R.N., Koningsveld, E.A.P., Settels, P.J.M. (éds), Elsevier, 2006Reliability of mechanical exposure measures during computer office workDelisle A., Christian Larivière, Plamondon A., Marchand D., Stock S.Source : in Proceedings of the 16th World Congress of the International Ergonomics Association / IEA (16th : July 10-14, 2006 : Maastricht, Netherlands), CD-ROM, Pikaar, R.N., Koningsveld, E.A.P., Settels, P.J.M. (éds), Elsevier, 2006Travail à l'ordinateur et troubles musculo-squelettiques (TMS) - Portrait de travailleurs de bureau de la fonction publiqueJetté C., Delisle A., Christian Larivière, Plamondon A., Marchand D., Stock S.Source : in Actes du colloque - La recherche en SST: Anciens risques et enjeux actuels : Congrès de l'ACFAS (3e : 17-19 mai, 2006 : Montréal, Canada), Réseau de recherche en santé et en sécurité du travail du Québec / RRSSTQ, 2006, (http://www.rrsstq.qc.ca/stock/fra/fichier0138.pdf) Additional Information Type: Project Number: 0099-1680 Status: Completed Year of completion: 2003 Research Field: OSH and Sustainable Prevention Work Environment Team: Alain Delisle (IRSST)Christian Larivière (IRSST)André Plamondon (IRSST)Daniel Imbeau (Polytechnique Montréal)