The Impact of Musculoskeletal Discomfort on Traditional Education System and Tablet-Assisted Education System: A Comparative Study

With the advances in the technology, computers are more involved in education, with various forms. Especially tablet computers are actively used for educational purposes. Given the fact that musculoskeletal development of children and adolescents is still continuing, potential musculoskeletal problems resulting from usage of such technologies must not be disregarded. The aim of this research is to investigate posture and musculoskeletal system of students during traditional and tablet assisted education activities. Descriptive analysis of the literature was conducted to discuss the impact of traditional education on students. To determine the impact of tablet assisted education system, a survey was conducted on to 406 students, and Logistic Regression Analysis was carried out to identify the correlation between musculoskeletal discomfort and tablet computer use. The validation of the risk factors determined in the model was tested by applying Analysis of Variance to the Surface Electromyogram records for the control and experimental groups. The results of the statistical analysis revealed that the physical discomforts due to tablet computer use are intensively experienced in neck, upper back, lower back, and shoulder regions, which are very similar to those experienced in traditional education. Reading and writing activities have an impact on the shoulders, upper back, and left upper arm. The developed risk assessment model shows that both educational and extra-curricular activities create significant risk factors for physical discomfort. Keywords: physical discomfort, risk assessment model, tablet-assisted education, traditional education, children/adolescent.