Effects of Prolonged Sitting in Schools on Musculoskeletal Health of School Children in Delhi

Abstract

Prolonged hours of sitting, including static posture, in school during school hours puts extreme physical stress on the muscles and ligaments. Since school children are expected to be in the classrooms for a long duration of four to six hours in a day and do most of the activities seated, it is imperative to observe and analyse the sitting posture musculoskeletal discomfort faced by children during the course of the school day. Also, to find out the incidence of musculoskeletal discomfort among them, the author chose to study a total of 450 students from five public schools of New Delhi. The results revealed that a significant percentage of school children experienced frequent body pain caused by forward bending postures and other awkward postures maintained during long hours of classroom activities. The result of these inappropriate sitting postures can sometimes lead to alteration in the shape of the body, muscle cramps, discomfort in the back and legs. These musculoskeletal problems highlight the need of further research to encourage appropriate sitting postures among school children.