The problem of physical inactivity, caused by both lifestyle and work-related factors, is affecting an ever greater number of the office-based workforce. In addition to this, physical inactivity has been associated with an increased risk for various chronic diseases as well as various musculoskeletal disorders. As the majority of an individual’s time is spent at work, a means of introducing more activity into the workplace environment would appear to provide potentially the most effective solution. One of these potential solutions is that of dynamic workstations. In a controlled laboratory setting, the biomechanical, physiological, subjective and performance effects of two dynamic workstations were contrasted against two more conventional workstations. Measures assessed included physical activity and percent of heart rate reserve. The performance of basic computer and office tasks was assessed using a standardized battery of tasks included a typing task, a reading task, a telephone task, a task examining mouse dexterity and a set of cognitive tasks. The set of cognitive tasks included two reaction tasks, a memory test and an Erikson flanker test. To determine the acceptability of these workstations, subjective experiences of the participants were recorded using a questionnaire.@en

The aim of this research paper was to investigate the effect, both biomechanically and physiologically, of two dynamic workstations currently available on the commercial market. The dynamic workstations tested, namely the Treadmill Desk by LifeSpan and the LifeBalance Station by RightAngle, were compared to the more conventional seated and standing workstations, through a randomized repeated measures design. Hypothesized was that the use of these dynamic workstations would have an effect on posture, physical activity, energy expenditure and muscular activity. Preliminary results suggest that the dynamic workstation increase physical activity and heart rate compared to the seated workstation.@en

The effect of different workstations, conventional and dynamic, on different types of performance measures for several different office and computer based task was investigated in this research paper. The two dynamic workstations assessed were the Lifespan Treadmill Desk and the RightAngle LifeBalance Station, and the two conventional workstations assessed were a seated and a standing workstation. Through a randomized repeated measures design, the effect of these different workstations was assessed for a series of tasks consisting of a reading, typing, telephone, mouse dexterity task and a battery of computer-based cognitive tasks. Hypothesized was that the use of these dynamic workstations would have different effects on the performance measures for the different types of tasks.@en