Razi Journal of Medical Sciences

Background: Undesirable work situations (such as awkward postures) can result in health issues such as musculoskeletal disorders in addition to reduced productivity and efficiency. The main purpose of this study was to determine the effect of these awkward postures on attention task performance.

Methods: Hence by designing two different simulated work stations, subjects were asked to complete a relatively complicated cognitive task on a 1 hour experimental session. RULA analytical method was used to evaluate the working postures. A series of mathematical tests was used as a fatigue manipulation tool. Moreover a subjective assessment was conducted by questionnaire.

Results: RULA score showed a significant difference between groups (p< 0.001). This difference showed that subjects in awkward posture reported more mental (p= 0.002) and physical fatigue (p= 0.023) than the standard posture group. The results also showed that awkward posture is related to impaired selective attention (p= 0.028) and a poor difference in the simple reaction time (p=0.050) was observed between the groups.

Conclusions: This study supports the theory that physical workload can interfere with cognitive performance in a concomitant mental activity.