The effects of the seat cushion contour and the sitting posture on surface pressure distribution and comfort during seated work

• Main Authors: Wenhua Li, Rong Mo, Suihuai Yu, Jianjie Chu, Yukun Hu, Long Wang
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine 2020-09-01
• Series: International Journal of Occupational Medicine and Environmental Health
• Subjects: comfort; seat cushion; seat cushion contour; surface pressure distribution; office chair; pressure measurement
• Online Access: http://www.journalssystem.com/ijomeh/Effects-of-seat-cushion-contour-and-sitting-posture-on-surface-pressure-distribution,123512,0,2.html

Objectives The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of the seat cushion contour and the sitting posture on the seat pan interface pressure distribution and subjective comfort perception. Material and Methods Overall, 16 volunteers typed a text passage on a laptop while seated, by assuming 3 kinds of common sitting postures (forward, relaxed and upright) in 4 seat cushion configurations: chair only, and chair with 1 of 3 supplementary cushions. Pressure data and cushion comfort ratings were collected in the experiment. Results It was found that the sitting posture and the seat cushion contour had different impacts on surface pressure. The seat cushion contour had an impact on pressure parameters and pressure distribution on the seat pan, while the sitting posture affected the location of peak pressure on the seat pan. The correlation analysis revealed that the subjective comfort rating was significantly correlated with average pressure (AP) and mean peak pressure (MPP). Conclusions The conclusion was that the cushion contour had a greater effect on seat pan interface pressure parameters than the sitting posture. Notably, AP and MPP can be indicators for assessing seat cushion comfort in a short-term perspective. Int J Occup Med Environ Health. 2020;33(5):675–89