Degree of musculoskeletal pain and other discomforts experienced by school children using different type of furniture during class

Abstract

Children spend long hours inside their classrooms which require them to continuously sit on the classroom furniture provided to them. 400 boys and girls school going children ranging in age from 4 to 14 years of government and private sponsored schools in Punjab were randomly selected for the study. A structured questionnaire was used for evaluating Musculoskeletal and other health problems of school children. The Faces Pain Scale—Revised and Visual analogue scale were used to measure pain intensity. The percentage of musculoskeletal pain and discomfort complained by subjects were Neck Pain 11%, Upper Back Pain 17.5%, Low Back Pain 14.75%, Upper Limb Pain 31%, Lower Limb Pain 33.25%, Sleep/dozy in classroom 14.25%, General Body Fatigue 35% and Any other discomfort 26%. Study concluded that classroom Furniture has significant impact on wellbeing of school children. This in order will help overcome the growing problems of poor posture found frequently among present day young generation.