Tablet computer use requires substantial head and neck flexion, which is a risk factor for neck pain. The goal of this study was to evaluate the biomechanics of the head-neck system during seated tablet computer use under a variety of conditions. A physiologically relevant variable, gravitational demand (the ratio of gravitational moment due to the weight of the head to maximal muscle moment capacity), was estimated using a musculoskeletal model incorporating subject-specific size and intervertebral postures from radiographs. Gravitational demand in postures adopted during tablet computer use was 3-5 times that of the neutral posture, with the lowest demand when the tablet was in a high propped position. Moreover, the estimated gravitational demand could be correlated to head and neck postural measures (0.48 < R(2) < 0.64, p < 0.001). These findings provide quantitative data about mechanical requirements on the neck musculature during tablet computer use and are important for developing ergonomics guidelines. Practitioner Summary: Flexed head and neck postures occur during tablet computer use and are implicated in neck pain. The mechanical demand on the neck muscles was estimated to increase 3-5 times during seated tablet computer use versus seated neutral posture, with the lowest demand in a high propped tablet position but few differences in other conditions.
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 159. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 07 December 2017.
All research outputs
#317,281
of 33,226,737 outputs
Outputs from Ergonomics
#25
of 3,131 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#3,166
of 399,746 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Ergonomics
#2
of 44 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 33,226,737 research outputs across all sources so far. Compared to these this one has done particularly well and is in the 99th percentile: it's in the top 5% of all research outputs ever tracked by Altmetric.
So far Altmetric has tracked 3,131 research outputs from this source. They typically receive more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 7.8. This one has done particularly well, scoring higher than 99% of its peers.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 399,746 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one has done particularly well, scoring higher than 99% of its contemporaries.
We're also able to compare this research output to 44 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one has done particularly well, scoring higher than 95% of its contemporaries.
