Alteration of Median Neural Tension from 4 Hours of Computer Use
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Abstract
The work-related musculoskeletal disorders can be caused by repetitive movement and sustained posture. Muscle pain that innervated by or adjacent to the nerve can increase neural tension. Median nerve is a peripheral nerve of the upper limb that includes all cervical nerve roots. It can be a representative for the upper limb nerves. This study aimed to observe median tension during 4-hour computer use. Twenty participants work 4 hours a day and have at least one year of experience. They all were performed mouse using and typing computing tasks for 4 hours and applied nerve tension test. Median nerve tension was investigated by both standard test (introduced by Butler) at before, during break, and after computer work, and self-quick test at before and every hour. For the standard test, elbow extension was used as a surrogate outcome to indicate the tension at the first and the second resistance (R1 and R2) measured by the researcher. The self-quick test, composed of seven components, is modified from a standard neural tension test to minimize an obtrusion of work. This study found that the median nerve tension increased significantly by both standard and self-quick tests over four hours of computer tasks. The tension of median nerve was reduced after having a short break. This behavior may indicate cumulative discharge of the nerve, which may further develop WMSDs. In conclusion, the continuous computer use increased median nerve tension. Workers may perform self-quick test to monitor their symptoms and can early detect and prevent the WMSDs.
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