Impact of Laptop Usage, Typing Skills, and Ergonomics on Musculoskeletal Pain among Medical Resident Doctors – An Observational Study

Abstract

Background: In today’s era of digital learning, the utility of laptops has drastically been increased. Sustained postural strain resulting from poor ergonomics while using laptops may lead to musculoskeletal discomforts (MSD). This study aimed to determine touch-typing skills of medical students, quantitative assessment of their postural ergonomics, and implications of their efforts while typing on the prevalence of MSD. Methods: Sixty medical students were asked to take an online typing test (www.ratatype.com) and their typing speed in words per minute (WPM) and accuracy (%) were noted. The lateral pictures of the students were taken while performing the typing test and objective ergonomics analysis using craniovertebral angle (CVA) and rapid upper limb assessment (RULA) scoring system. Results: None of the students demonstrated touch typing proficiency. The average typing speed (WPM) and accuracy (%) were observed to be 27.893 and 94.768, respectively. The mean CVA was 33.17, much lower than the average norm. The mean final RULA score was 5.62, indicating a high degree of MSD risk. Moderate-to-severe laptop users (≥4 h/day) showed higher prevalence of MSDs (P < 0.05) as compared to normal-to-mild users. A significant negative correlation was found between CVA and RULA scores. Conclusion: The study concluded average typing speed and accuracy, poor ergonomics (low CVA), and moderate-to-high MSD risk (based on RULA score) were seen among students. A high MSD prevalence was reported in laptop usage of ≥ 4 h/day, which can be ascribed to postural strain from improper typing habits and poor ergonomics.