Postural versus chair design impacts upon interface pressure.

An investigation of postural and chair design impacts upon seat pan interface pressure has been performed in an effort to identify whether differences in posture or chair design result in greater pressure differences. Investigation of postural variables focused on trunk-thigh angle and use of armrests. Twelve ergonomic office chairs were used to assess chair design differences. Both male and female subjects were included. Gender effects were controlled through use of a repeated Latin square design, with squares defined by gender. Significant gender-based interaction was observed amongst postural treatments and chair effects. Postural treatments, chairs designs, and participant effects all resulted in significant interface pressure differences, though gender-based interaction yielded some non-additivity of results between males and females. The final conclusion drawn from the results is that chair design differences had the greatest effect on seat pan interface pressure, followed by participant effects, and lastly postural treatments.