The optimum diameter of ballpoint pens for hand and forearm muscle activity in writing tasks
Date Issued
2008
Date
2008
Author(s)
Huang, Ko-Wei
Abstract
Prolonged use of pens may cause musculoskeletal discomfort and symptoms in forearms and shoulders. Writing with different diameter ballpoint pens may have various effects on forearm and finger muscle activity. Each of the twenty-five subjects performed the same writing task with each of the five different diameter pens. Extensor carpi ulnaris, extensor digitorum, flexor carpi radialis, flexor pollicis brevis, first dorsal interosseous and upper trapezius muscle activity were recorded by surface electromyography. The wrist postures were registered by an electrogoniometer, and then the recorded data were analyzed with the one-way ANOVA. Extensor digitorum, flexor carpi radialis and flexor pollicis brevis muscle activity were lowest when using the ballpoint pen with 12mm diameter. A recommendation resulting from this study for writing work is that using a ballpoint pen with a suitable diameter can provide the user less forearm muscle activity so the risk of musculoskeletal disorders may be reduced. Furthermore, some forearm muscle activity in using the ballpoint pen of 14mm diameter were even lower than that in using the ballpoint pen of 10mm diameter, and therefore the ballpoint pen of 14mm diameter might be another good choice for writing work.
Subjects
Pen diameter
Surface electromyography
electrogoniometer
muscle activity
Type
thesis
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