An Ergonomic Design and Evaluation of a Chair with a Flexible Seat Pan for the Maintenance of Correct Sitting Posture
Source abstract
Abstract
This study evaluates the ergonomic benefits of a novel chair featuring a four-segment flexible seat pan designed to support correct sitting posture. Motion capture and electromyography tools are used to quantitatively assess the impact of different chair designs on pelvic and lumbar angles and muscle usage through two ergonomic experiments (short- and long-term). In the short-term experiment (30 participants), the proposed chair demonstrated significant improvements in maintaining the spine’s S-shape, with hip and lumbar angle enhancements of up to 15.3° compared to a conventional chair. The long-term experiment (20 participants) revealed that the proposed chair led to a more favourable muscle fatigue profile during prolonged sitting, with a 47% decrease at lower frequencies (0 to 20 Hz) and a 34% increase at higher frequencies (60 to 80 Hz) compared to the conventional chair, indicating reduced muscle fatigue. These results suggest that the proposed chair can significantly improve posture and reduce fatigue in settings that require prolonged sitting.
Source: crossref · Quality: baseline
Research context
OpenAlex topics: Ergonomics and Musculoskeletal Disorders · Musculoskeletal pain and rehabilitation · Occupational health in dentistry
SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.
Affiliations
Industrial & Systems Engineering, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
Graduate School of Communication & Arts, Yonsei University, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea
School of Global Entrepreneurship and Information Communication Technology, Handong Global University, Pohang 37554, Republic of Korea
Comfo Labs, Inc., Seoul 06036, Republic of Korea
NOOGI, Inc., Seoul 06183, Republic of Korea
Funding
National Research Foundation of Korea · Korea Evaluation Institute of Industrial Technology
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