Musculoskeletal disorders in the office environment: measuring the risk factors

Hugenholtz, Clarine Maria Constance (2021) Musculoskeletal disorders in the office environment: measuring the risk factors. Bachelor's Thesis, Life Science and Technology.

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Abstract

Musculoskeletal disorder (MSD) is an injury which causes a lot of problems among office workers. The risk factors of MSDs can be physical, psychosocial or individually medical. Very common risk factors include, poor ergonomics and long sedentary periods, leading to awkward postures and high burden for the musculoskeletal system. Besides that, repetitive movements of the arm caused by using the keyboard and mouse, can cause arm-wrist-hand and neck-shoulder issues. The highly stressful environment at the office could lead to psychosocial strain and is therefore also seen as a major risk factor. The challenge of using sensors to measure these risk factors, lies in the fact that the sensors need to be minimally invasive while still being able to detect clinical relevant changes. Nowadays, computer software and a force sensing mouse are used to measure the keyboard and mouse use, while electromyography (EMG) can indicate muscle fatigue and strain. At the same time, force sensing resistors can analyze sedentary periods and awkward postures. To detect stress, Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) film sensors and electrocardiograms (ECG) are used, as they can give insight on heart rate variability (HRV). The goal of the product that is going to be developed, is that it can measure the different risk factors of musculoskeletal disorders. This way it can hopefully help to prevent the development of MSDs among office workers. As the project only lasts 10 weeks, there are multiple limitations

Item Type:	Thesis (Bachelor's Thesis)
Supervisor name:	Wilhelm, E. and Verkerke, G.J.
Degree programme:	Life Science and Technology
Thesis type:	Bachelor's Thesis
Language:	English
Date Deposited:	08 Jun 2021 09:25
Last Modified:	08 Jun 2021 09:25
URI:	https://fse.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/24494

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