Working technique during computer work Associations with biomechanical and psychological strain and neck and upper extremity musculoskeletal symptoms

All previously published papers have been reproduced with permission from the publisher. ' " The great end of life is not knowledge but action! " Thomas Henry Huxley (1825-1895) The impact of working technique on physical loads – an exposure profile among newspaper editors. Perceived muscle tension, emotional stress, psychological demands and physical load during VDU work. Toomingas A. Concordance between VDU-users' ratings of comfort and perceived exertion with experts' observations of workplace layout and working postures. The influence of working technique, comfort and perceived exertion on the incidence of upper extremity symptoms among VDU-users. Submitted V Lindegård Andersson A, Ekman A. Reply to short communication concerning " Concordance between VDU-users`ratings of comfort and perceived exertion with expertsòbservations of workplace layout and working postures ". Technical note Applied Ergonomics In press Contents 1. Introduction 1.1 Computer work 1.2 Musculoskeletal symptom in the general population 1.3 Musculoskeletal symptoms among computer users 1.4 Physical exposure 1.5 Work organization and psychosocial exposure 1.6 Individual factors 1.7 A model exploring associations between computer work and musculoskeletal symptoms 1.8 Aim of the thesis 2. Subjects 2.1 Study designs 2.2 Subjects 3. Methods 3.1 Technical measurements 3.2 Observation assessments 3.3 Questionnaires and self-ratings 4. Statistics 5. Results 5.1 Working technique 5.2 Working technique and physical strain 5.3 Working technique and psychological strain 5.4 Working technique and neck and upper extremity symptoms 5.5 Perceived exertion and comfort 5.6 Perceived exertion, comfort and neck and upper extremity symptoms 6. Discussion 6.1 Working technique and biomechanical strain 6.2 Working technique and psychological strain 6.3 Working technique and neck and upper extremity symptoms 6.4 Perceived exertion and comfort 6.5 Perceived exertion, comfort and biomechanical strain 6.6. Perceived exertion, comfort and psychological strain 6.7 Perceived exertion, comfort and neck and upper extremity symptoms 6.8 Methodological limitations 6.9 General discussion 7. Conclusions Summary Sammanfattning (Summary in Swedish) Acknowledgements References