Discriminating Between Individuals with and Without Musculoskeletal Disorders of the Upper Extremity by Means of Items Related to Computer Keyboard Use

Details

• Personal Author:
  Baker NA ; Redfern MS ; Sussman NB
• Description:
  Introduction: identifying postures and behaviors during keyboard use that can discriminate between individuals with and without musculoskeletal disorders of the upper extremity (MSD-UE) is important for developing intervention strategies. This study explores the ability of models built from items of the Keyboard-Personal Computer Style instrument (K-PeCS) to discriminate between subjects who have MSD-UE and those who do not. Methods: forty-two subjects, 21 with diagnosed MSD-UE (cases) and 21 without MSD-UE (controls), were videotaped while using their keyboards at their onsite computer workstations. These video clips were rated using the K-PeCS. The K-PeCS items were used to generate models to discriminate between cases and controls using Classification and Regression Tree (CART) methods. Results: two CART models were generated; one that could accurately discriminate between cases and controls when the cases had any diagnosis of MSD-UE (69% accuracy) and one that could accurately discriminate between cases and controls when the cases had neck-related MSD-UE (93% accuracy). Both models had the same single item, "neck flexion angle greater than 20 degrees". In both models, subjects who did not have a neck flexion angle of greater than 20 degrees were accurately identified as controls. Conclusions: the K-PeCS item "neck flexion greater than 20 degrees" can discriminate between subjects with and without MSD-UE. Further research with a larger sample is needed to develop models that have greater accuracy. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Biomechanical Phenomena Ergonomics Musculoskeletal Diseases Musculoskeletal System Occupational Health Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety Safety Management
• Keywords:
  Biomechanical-modeling Biomechanics Mathematical-models Models Musculoskeletal-system-disorders Posture Risk-analysis Risk-factors Safety-monitoring Safety-practices Skeletal-movement Statistical-analysis

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• ISSN:
  1053-0487
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 3 ; Pennsylvania
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  157-165
• Volume:
  18
• Issue:
  2
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20034601
• Citation:
  J Occup Rehabil 2008 Jun; 18(2):157-165
• Contact Point Address:
  Nancy A. Baker, Department of Occupational Therapy, University of Pittsburgh, 5012 Forbes Tower, Pittsburgh, PA 15260
• Email:
  nab36@pitt.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2008
• Performing Organization:
  University of Pittsburgh
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20040501
• Source Full Name:
  Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation
• End Date:
  20070430
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:26d624c1a84a10854cb369c276b9a70ac3387208c796832b35feca7fb8697a26af816b0d03a3a6557301c8e5cc8d89267802fead651927c18dbd3cf1f75f8587
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/186753/cdc_186753_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 238.23 KB ]