Evaluating the effect of four different pointing device designs on upper extremity posture and muscle activity during mousing tasks

Details

• Personal Author:
  Dennerlein, Jack T. ; Lin MYC ; Young JG
• Description:
  The goal of this study was to evaluate the effect of different types of computer pointing devices and placements on posture and muscle activity of the hand and arm. A repeated measures laboratory study with 12 adults (6 females, 6 males) was conducted. Participants completed two mouse-intensive tasks while using a conventional mouse, a trackball, a stand-alone touchpad, and a rollermouse. A motion analysis system and an electromyography system monitored right upper extremity postures and muscle activity, respectively. The rollermouse condition was associated with a more neutral hand posture (lower inter-fingertip spread and greater finger flexion) along with significantly lower forearm extensor muscle activity. The touchpad and rollermouse, which were centrally located, were associated with significantly more neutral shoulder postures, reduced ulnar deviation, and lower forearm extensor muscle activities than other types of pointing devices. Users reported the most difficulty using the trackball and touchpad. Rollermouse was not more difficult to use than any other devices. These results show that computer pointing device design and location elicit significantly different postures and forearm muscle activities during use, especially for the hand posture metrics. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Biomechanical Phenomena Computers Electrical Equipment And Supplies Electrophysiology Ergonomics Laboratories Men Musculoskeletal Diseases Musculoskeletal System Occupational Health Safety Women

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• Keywords:
  Arm-injuries Author Keywords: Pointing Device Biomechanics Computer-equipment Computer Tasks Electronic-devices Electrophysiological-measurements Equipment-design Hand-injuries Humans Keyboard-operators Laboratory-testing Motion-studies Muscle-function Muscle-stress Muscle-tissue Musculoskeletal-system Musculoskeletal-system-disorders Musculoskeletal Disorders Office-equipment Physiological-measurements Physiological-testing Physiology Posture Task-performance

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• ISSN:
  0003-6870
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Massachusetts ; Michigan ; OSHA Region 1 ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  259-264
• Volume:
  47
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20046633
• Citation:
  Appl Ergon 2015 Mar; 47:259-264
• Contact Point Address:
  Jack T. Dennerlein, Northeastern University, 360 Huntington Avenue, 308 F Robinson Hall, Boston, MA 02115, USA
• Email:
  j.dennerlein@neu.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2015
• Performing Organization:
  Harvard University School of Public Health
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20070301
• Source Full Name:
  Applied Ergonomics
• End Date:
  20120228
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:caa3c141f35be6e3fcb1ef5d15f214324aabbeb48f3adb34353220374bbcbc699d9f38a74a38f061878e9abf83d1dfe474e9d32963f1e8fa62b2bfac4cbbbb06
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/201632/cdc_201632_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 507.72 KB ]