Effects of the Computer Desk Level on the Musculoskeletal Discomfort of Neck and Upper Extremities and EMG Activities in Patients with Spinal Cord Injuries.
Bo-Ra Kang, Jin-Gang Her, Ju-Sang Lee and 2 others
PMID 30863242WHAT IT FOUND
In 12 wheelchair users with spinal cord injury, self-rated neck and arm discomfort changed with desk height by injury level: higher desk lowered discomfort for C6, lower desk lowered discomfort for T2-T6.
EMG muscle activity did not change.
Key findings
01Self-rated discomfort changed with desk height differently by injury level: it decreased as desk height increased in the C6 group, and decreased as desk height decreased in the T2-T6 group.
02EMG activity of the four measured muscles did not differ between desk heights.
03The interaction between the upper trapezius and wrist extensor varied with desk height.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
Only 12 patients were studied, all male, right-handed, and with complete ASIA A or B injuries, so the findings may not apply to other people with spinal cord injury. The typing task was a simplified two-minute task and was described as different from actual computer work. The authors state that representativeness was difficult to secure despite selecting a homogeneous group. The C6 group used a bend-type typing device, so their typing setup was not identical to the T2-T6 group. EMG activity did not differ between desk heights, so the objective muscle-activity measure did not explain the discomfort findings.
The easy way to misread this
Do not set every wheelchair user with spinal cord injury to a higher desk. Discomfort decreased with higher desk height only in the C6 group, and it decreased with lower desk height in the T2-T6 group.