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The Effect of Break on Discomfort and Variation in EMG Activities While Using a Smartphone: A Preliminary Study in a Chinese University Population

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HCI International 2020 – Late Breaking Papers: Digital Human Modeling and Ergonomics, Mobility and Intelligent Environments (HCII 2020)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNISA,volume 12429))

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Abstract

(1) Background: Despite the substantial increase in the number of adolescent smartphone users, few studies have investigated the behavioral effects of smartphone use on adolescent students as it relates to musculoskeletal discomfort; (2) Methods: The aim of our study was to estimate the prevalence of musculoskeletal symptoms in university students and determine the relationship between smartphone use and musculoskeletal symptoms among this population through an online survey. Considering the dynamic and cumulative characteristics of muscle activities, the most common body parts reported discomfort in the survey were selected to gauging muscle activities during smartphone use by collecting surface EMG signals. Then, according to the changing of muscle activities, a comparison experiment was conducted to give an intervention to eliminate the probability of occurrence of muscle discomfort; (3) Results: Neck/shoulder, arms, upper back, wrist/hand, and low back were the most commonly reported muscle locations with discomfort/pain; in the EMG experiment, a 10-min rest after 30-min smartphone usage was effective to keep the EMG activity at a relatively stable state; (4) Conclusions: This study offers the possibility of being applied to smartphone users and provides preliminary data support and theoretical exploration for follow-up early muscle fatigue detection system.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Management Engineering, Anhui Polytechnic University, Wuhu, People’s Republic of China

    Peilin Li, Yi Wang, Yi Ding & Yaqin Cao

  2. School of Industrial Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA

    Yi Ding, Yaqin Cao & Vincent G. Duffy

Authors
  1. Peilin Li
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  2. Yi Wang
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  3. Yi Ding
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  4. Yaqin Cao
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  5. Vincent G. Duffy
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yi Ding .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Crete and Foundation for Research and Technology – Hellas (FORTH), Heraklion, Crete, Greece

    Constantine Stephanidis

  2. Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA

    Vincent G. Duffy

  3. Smart Future Initiative, Frankfurt am Main, Germany

    Norbert Streitz

  4. Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan

    Shin'ichi Konomi

  5. Ilmenau University of Technology, Ilmenau, Germany

    Heidi Krömker

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Li, P., Wang, Y., Ding, Y., Cao, Y., Duffy, V.G. (2020). The Effect of Break on Discomfort and Variation in EMG Activities While Using a Smartphone: A Preliminary Study in a Chinese University Population. In: Stephanidis, C., Duffy, V.G., Streitz, N., Konomi, S., Krömker, H. (eds) HCI International 2020 – Late Breaking Papers: Digital Human Modeling and Ergonomics, Mobility and Intelligent Environments. HCII 2020. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 12429. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-59987-4_38

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-59987-4_38

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-59986-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-59987-4

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