The effect of tablet tilt angles and time on posture, muscle activity, and discomfort at the neck and shoulder in healthy young adults

by Siriyaphorn Rungkitlertsakul, Petcharatana Bhuanantanondh, Bryan Buchholz

Although young adults regularly perform tablet writing, biomechanics during the tablet writing with different tilt angles has not been studied. The objective of this study was to compare posture, muscle activity, and discomfort at the neck and shoulder between tablet writing with 0° (horizontal) and 30° tablet tilt angles over 40 minutes in healthy young adults.

Twenty participants wrote continuously for 40 minutes on a tablet with both tilt angles in a randomized order. Between conditions, there was a 5-minute activity break. Differences in neck and shoulder posture, muscle activity, and discomfort between both tablet tilt angles and changes in the outcomes every 10 minutes over 40 minutes were investigated.

With the tilted tablet, there were lower neck flexion (Z = -4.637, P<0.001), lower shoulder extension (Z = -3.734, P<0.001), and lower neck Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) (left; Z = -4.699, P<0.001 and right; Z = -3.874, P<0.001) as compared to the no tilt condition. However, the right upper trapezius muscle activity was higher in the tilted condition as compared to the no tilt one.Over 40 minutes, the neck VAS (left; χ²(4) = 30.235, P<0.001 and right; χ²(4) = 32.560, P<0.001) and heart rate variability (χ²(4) = 12.906, P = 0.012) showed notable increases after 20 minutes compared to baseline.

In conclusion, adjusting the tablet tilt to 30° and limiting time spent to 20 minutes are recommended for young adults during the tablet writing to prevent neck problems.