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. 2021 Jan;63(1):e12194.
doi: 10.1002/1348-9585.12194.

Association between comprehensive workstation and neck and upper-limb pain among office worker

Kiyomasa Nakatsuka  1 , Yamato Tsuboi  1   2 , Maho Okumura  3 , Shunsuke Murata  4 , Tsunenori Isa  1 , Rika Kawaharada  1 , Naoka Matsuda  5 , Kazuaki Uchida  1 , Kana Horibe  1 , Masahumi Kogaki  6 , Rei Ono  1
Affiliations

Association between comprehensive workstation and neck and upper-limb pain among office worker

Kiyomasa Nakatsuka et al. J Occup Health. 2021 Jan.

Abstract

Objectives: Our study aimed to investigate the association between comprehensive workstations and neck and upper-limb pain (NUP) among office workers.

Methods: This cross-sectional study included 307 office workers (median age, 39 years; 88% men). Workstations (presence of armrest, armrest position, number of monitors used, mouse position, mouse usage, keyboard usage, and keyboard position) were investigated in terms of 17 items and judged as "adequate" or "inadequate." NUP was assessed using a numerical rating scale. NUP locations included the neck, shoulder, elbow, and wrist. In the statistical analysis, outcome variables were the presence of pain in each part, while explanatory variables were the number of inadequate workstations. Logistic regression analyses were conducted with adjustment for age, gender, working duration, and exercise habit.

Results: The prevalence of neck pain was 47% (n = 143), shoulder pain was 50% (n = 153), elbow pain was 7.2% (n = 22), and wrist pain was 13% (n = 40). In the adjusted model, the number of inadequate workstations had significant positive associations with elbow pain (odds ratio [OR], 1.39; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.06.1.81) and wrist pain (OR, 1.80; 95% CI, 1.17.2.26). However, the number of inadequate workstations was not significantly associated with neck pain or shoulder pain.

Conclusions: Workstation-related factors (presence of armrest, armrest position, mouse usage, and keyboard usage) were significantly associated with elbow and wrist pain. Our findings suggest that workstations can contribute to elbow and wrist pain in office workers.

Keywords: epidemiology; office worker; pain; workstation.

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Conflict of interest statement

Approval of the research protocol: The study protocol was approved by the ethics committee of Kobe University School of Medicine Faculty of Health Science and conformed to the Declaration of Helsinki. Informed consent: All participants of this study gave informed consent. Registry and the Registration No. of the study/Trial: N/A. Animal studies: N/A. Conflict of interest: The authors declare no potential competing interests with respect to the study and authorship and/or publication of this article.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
The frequency of the number of inadequate workstations
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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