16 International Journal of Integrated Health Sciences. 2019;7(1)

Correspondence:
Jesslyn Christianningrum Putri, Faculty of Medicine, 
Universitas Padjadjaran
Jl. Raya Bandung-Sumedang KM 21 Jatinangor, 
Indonesia
e-mail: christianningrumjesslyn@gmail.com

Correlation between Learning Comfort and the Risk of Musculoskeletal 
Disorder in Anatomy Laboratorium Activity based on RULA Method

Leonardo Lubis,1,2 Jesslyn Christianningrum Putri,3 Mulya Nurmansyah Ardisasmita4

1Department of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Padjadjaran
2Sports Medicine Department, KONI Jawa Barat
3Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Padjadjaran
4Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Padjadjaran

Abstract  Objective: To describe learning comfort in the anatomy class of the Faculty 
of Medicine, Universitas Padjadjaran as one of the learning facilities, to assess 
the risk of musculoskeletal disorders in students, and to observe correlation 
between learning comfort and the risk of musculoskeletal disorders in 
students. 

 Methods: A cross sectional research design conducted to the participants 
that were students from batch 2017 (second year), faculty of Medicine, 
Universitas Padjadjaran as the population sample. Data were taken using a 
Likert scale questionnaire (very uncomfortable–very comfortable) about the 
comfort aspects in the class, meanwhile the risk of musculoskeletal disorders 
were assessed by using Rapid Upper Limb Assessment (RULA). After data 
collection, there were 106 respondents with complete data, then the data 
were processed by using descriptive statistical analyses. The correlation 
between the two variables was analyzed using the Gamma correlation test.

 
 Results: Majority of the students were very comfortable with the aspects of 

learning comfort (majority scale 5), except in aspects of furniture, work area, 
room aroma, personal storage area, maintenance and repair. A moderate 
risk level of musculoskeletal disorders (58.5%) was found in the majority of 
the students. There was a relative significant relationship  between learning 
comfort and the risk of musculoskeletal disorders in the aspect of colors 
(γ=0.445, p<0.01). 

 
 Conclusions: There is a significant relationship between learning comfort in 

the aspect of colors and the risk of musculoskeletal disorders. Other aspects 
do not indicate a significant relationship.

 
 Keywords: Learning comfort, risk of musculoskeletal disorders, RULA
 pISSN: 2302-1381; eISSN: 2338-4506; http://doi.org/10.15850/ijihs.v7n1.1566
 IJIHS. 2019;7(1):16–25

Introduction

Comfort is one of many aspects required 
in each type of work, non-exceptional to 
learning. The individual comfort is determined 
by perception and several aspects of the 
surrounding environment, namely lighting, 
temperature, noise, and others. Errors in one 

aspect of comfort can affect one’s perception 
which is defined as a feeling of “discomfort”.  If 
this condition is maintained for a long duration, 
there will be some changes that are perceived 
by the individual, whether it is pain or aches. A 
study stated that discomfort is associated with 
musculoskeletal disorders.1

Musculoskeletal disorders is defined as an 
abnormality which is frequently caused by a 
request of activity that exceeds the capacity 
or limits of the musculoskeletal component.1 
The musculoskeletal component consists of 
bones, muscles, and joints that interact with 
each other to produce movement, including 

Original Article

Received:
February 7, 2019

Revised:
March 5, 2019

Accepted:
March 21, 2019

:16–25



International Journal of Integrated Health Sciences. 2019;7(1) 17

isometric contractions that form the posture 
of the human body.2 A person’s posture can 
be determined by several indicators such 
as anthropometry, type of work, and the 
surrounding work area.3 A study conducted 
in a school discovered that furniture, seating 
distance, and vision can affect body posture 
when sitting.4 Errors in one of these aspects 
can cause abnormal posture.3 

The abnormal body postures maintained 
for prolonged duration will cause chronic 
musculoskeletal disorders such as carpal 
tunnel syndrome, tendinitis, and bursitis.3 
These abnormalities require a long recovery 
period, even causing permanent disability 
that may reduce life’s potential productivity.4,5 
Therefore, prevention of risk of musculoskeletal 
disorders is very important to be done in order 
to reduce the rate of permanent disability.6 
Prevention of musculoskeletal risk can be 
intervened through approachment of aspect 
that affects work posture. Screening the risk of 
musculoskeletal disorders, work environment 
improvements, and assessing work posture.3 

The rapid upper limb assessment (RULA) 
is one of several methods to assess work 
posture. The results obtained are final scores 
with recommendations according to the 
score category; whether the posture is worth 
maintaining, needs for a change, or changed as 
soon as possible. The RULA has been widely 
used by researchers to assess work postures 
for factory employees, computer users, and 
other risky jobs that are capable of causing 
musculoskeletal disorders in the future.7

Aspects that affect an individual’s posture 
intersect with several aspects that determine 
the comfort of an individual. Anatomy class as 
one of the student learning facilities includes 
various kinds of activities, such as cadaveric 
observation, lecture and discussion, and the 
use of teaching aids. Every job or activity 
requires different postures, and can pose a risk 
of musculoskeletal disorders, if done in poor 
posture and maintained for a long duration.4

 

Methods

This study was conducted by using analytical 
methods with cross-sectional approach. The 
subjects in this study were students of batch 
2017 of the Faculty of Medicine, Universitas 
Padjadjaran, Jatinangor West Java, Indonesia. 
The sample size was obtained by using a 
large proportion estimation formula, with a 
minimum sample of 97 people. The sample 
size used for proportions was the same as 

correlative, because the minimum sample 
used for correlative research was 60 people, 
so the largest minimum sample was taken. 
The inclusion criteria for this study were 
students who took part in the anatomy 
laboratory activities in building C.4.1.2 
Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Padjadjaran. 
Exclusion criteria were students who 
experienced musculoskeletal disorders due 
to other reasons (for example infection) and 
incomplete data. The variables in this study 
were student characteristics (gender, age, and 
body mass index), a description of comfort in 
the laboratory aspects, and the risk level of 
musculoskeletal disorders.Characteristic data 
in the form of body mass index (BMI) were 
obtained by filling out questionnaires in the 
form of height and weight, then measured 
using the BMI formula. The results by using the 
formula would be categorized into four groups 
based on the Asian World Health Organization 
(WHO) criteria: underweight (<18.5), normal 
(18.5–22.9), overweight (23–24.9), and obese 
(≥25). 8

Comfort features in laboratory aspects were 
measured by using a comfort questionnaire 
consisting of twenty-eight aspects of comfort 
divided into eight major aspects such as 
temperature, aroma, noise, furniture comfort, 
lighting, work area, color, and building safety. 
Every aspect of comfort were measured 
by Likert scale, ranging from scale 1 (very 
uncomfortable) to 5 (very comfortable). This 
questionnaire has been tested for validity 
(significance level <0.05; rxy> 0.195, n=106) 
and reliability (Cronbach’s alpha=0.928). The 
results obtained are the score obtained from 
each aspect, then classified into five categories: 
(1) very uncomfortable, (2) uncomfortable, 
(3) neutral, (4) comfortable, and (5) very 
comfortable. This questionnaire was also 
equipped with a critic column for each number. 

The risk of musculoskeletal disorders was 
measured using RULA. Assessment of work 
posture was done by observing the students 
during the class activity. The RULA sheet 
was divided into three large tables: table A 
(assessing the posture of the forearm, forearm, 
and wrist), table B (assessing the neck, trunk, 
and legs), and the Grand Score table (final 
score based on the score of table A and table B). 
Risk scores are assessed based on the figures 
provided in each table, then added to the score 
of muscle use and burden. The final score on 
the Grand Score table will be categorized into 
four categories: low risk (1–2), moderate (3–
4), high (5–6), and very high (≥7).

Data on respondents’ characteristics in the 

Leonardo Lubis, Jesslyn Christianningrum Putri, et al.

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18 International Journal of Integrated Health Sciences. 2019;7(1):16–25

form of gender, age, and BMI were analyzed 
using descriptive statistics, presented in the 
form of numbers and percentages. Data in 
the form of age were presented in the mean 
and standard deviation. The correlation 
between comfort variables and the risk of 
musculoskeletal disorders were analyzed 
using the Gamma correlation test.

Results

Data collection was carried out on the afternoon 
of class schedule (01.00 PM–03.30 PM) in 
three different days: day 1 was on Monday, 
August 27, 2018 there were 54 students who 
met the inclusion criteria. After data collection 
and checking, there were 36 incomplete 
data, so that there were 18 complete data for 
analysis; day 2 was onn Wednesday, August 
29, 2018 there were 49 students who met the 
inclusion criteria. After data collection and 
checking, there was 1 incomplete data so that 
there were 48 complete data for analysis; day 
3 was onn Friday, August 31, 2018 there were 
41 students who met the inclusion criteria. 
After data collection and checking, there 
was 1 incomplete data so that there were 40 
complete data for analysis. There were 144 
students who met the inclusion criteria. After 
taking and checking the data, there were 38 
incomplete data. Moreover, there were a total 
of 106 complete data for data analysis.

Number of female participants in this 
study were larger (67.92%) compared to men 

(32.07%), with an average age of 18.9 and 
standard deviation of 0.74. Most participants 
had a normal distribution in BMI (69.81%).  

In this study, majority of students perceived 
very comfortable in aspects of temperature 
and air flow comfort (Fig. 1a), shown by the 
majority scale of 5 (very comfortable) at room 
temperature aspects (36.8%), temperature 
shifts (39.6%), drafts (53.8%), ventilation 
(51.9%), air freshness (34%), air circulation 
(45.3%), and humidity (48.1 %).

Majority of the respondents perceived very 
comfortable with all aspects of sound and noise 
(Fig. 1b), internal noise (48.1%), spesific noise 
(54.7%), noise from the air system (59.4%), 
and external noise (50%). The highest aspects 
of comfort were found in noise from lightning 
systems (80.2%).

Correlation between Learning Comfort and the Risk of Musculoskeletal Disorder in 
Anatomy Laboratorium Activity based on RULA Method

Fig. 1 Learning Comfort Aspect Graphics

Fig. 2 Distribution of the Risk Degree 
of Musculoskeletal Disorders in 
Students



International Journal of Integrated Health Sciences. 2019;7(1) 19

Leonardo Lubis, Jesslyn Christianningrum Putri, et al.

:16–25

The respondents showed comfortness in 
the aspect of lighting, glare and visuals (Fig. 
1c). In this study, the respondents felt very 
comfortable with all these aspects: natural 
brightness (56.6%), electric lighting (67%), 
glare (65.1%), colors (63.2%), esthetic aspects 
(39,6%), and views from windows (57%). As 
with the privacy aspect, respondents felt very 
comfortable with aspects of visual privacy 
(41.5%) and conversation privacy (46.2%) 
(Fig. 1f ).

Furniture, work area, and maintenance 
aspects showed that respondents felt neutral 
(scale 3) on furniture (38.7%), personal 
storage (27.4%), amount of workspace (32.1 
%), as well as maintenance and repairs 
(36.8%) (Fig. 1d). In another aspect, the 
respondents perceived very comfortable with 
the work storage (40.6%), furniture layout 
(34.9%), and building security (67%). The 
room odours aspect, majority of respondents 
showed comfortable (scale 4) with the room 
odours (34%) (Fig. 1e).

The majority of students perceived very 
comfortable with almost all aspects of the 
room (indicated by a majority scale of 5). 
There was a downgrade in comfort aspects 
of furniture, work area, maintenance and 
safety, and room odours. The highest aspect of 
comfort was found in the aspect of noise from 
the lighting (80.2%). The lowest aspect of 
comfort was personal storage areas (27.4%). 
Data in the form of reason columns were 

not presented due to variation of answers, 
and many participants did not fill the critics 
column.

The majority of students had moderate risk 
degrees (58.5%). The rest were at high risk 
level (36.8%), followed by low risk (3.8%) and 
very high risk (0.9%), respectively.

Characteristic of gender did not show 
a significant relationship with the risk of 
musculoskeletal disorders (Kruskall-Wallis 
test, p>0.001). The characteristics of age were 
not related to the risk level of musculoskeletal 
disorders (r = 0.066). Body mass index have 
a weak, non-significant relationship with the 
risk of musculoskeletal disorders, with a γ 
value of  0.147.

There was a relative strong significant 
relationship between aspects of colors 
and the risk of musculoskeletal disorders 
(γ=0.445, p <0.01). Other aspects showed 
no significant relationship with the risk of 
musculoskeletal disorder. However, a weak 
relationship was found in some aspects: 
drafts (γ =0.151); ventilation (γ=0.120); 
air freshness (γ=-0.103); room odours (γ 
=-0.107); humidity (γ=-0,100); external noise 
(γ=-0,116); work storage (γ=0.145); amount 
of workspace (γ=0.159); furniture layout 
(γ=0.131); conversation privacy (γ=0.139); 
esthetic aspect (γ=0.175), with the risk of 
musculoskeletal disorder. Aspect in noise from 
lightning system (γ=0.225); natural brightness 
(γ=0,250), electric lighting (γ=0,264); 
maintenance and repair (γ=0.038) and 
building security (γ=0.037) shows moderate 
non-significant relationship (Table2).

Discussion

Learning comfort is influenced by perceptions 
and the surrounding environment,  therefore 
definition of comfort is different by person. 
Most of the students felt very comfortable with 
the condition of the surrounding area that 
supports their learning indicated by scale 5 in 
the comfort questionnaire. On the other hand, 
others felt some aspects were not optimal 
in their learning environment (1–4 scale). 
“Neutral” comfort status (scale 3) showed that 
there was a vague perception of “comfortable” 
feeling, so it tends to be categorized as 
uncomfortable. Comfort aspects that are 
considered less optimal are the room odours, 
furniture, personal storage, the amount of 
work space, maintenance and repair. 

Thermal comfort is determined by several 
factors: temperature, air velocity, humidity, 

Table 1 Characteristics of Respondents
Characteristics n=106 Percentage (%)

Gender
   Male 34 32,07
   Female 72 67,92
Age (mean, SD) 18.9;0.74
   17 2 0,018
   18 26 24,52
   19 56 52,83
   20 21 19,81
   21 1 0,009
BMI (kg/m2)
   Underweight 17 16,03%
   Normal 61 57,54%
   Overweight 13 12,26%
   Obese 15 14,15%

Note: BMI=Body mass index, SD=Standard deviation



20 International Journal of Integrated Health Sciences. 2019;7(1):16–25

solar radiation, type of activity, and type of 
clothing.9 In this study, thermal comfort in the 
laboratory was considered “very comfortable”. 
Two air conditioners were provided on 
the left side of the room (Fig. 3d). There is 
a slight difference between “comfortable” 
and “very comfortable” perceptions due to 
uneven temperature distribution, that is 
more dominant on the left side of the room. 
As a result, some students felt that the room 
temperature was too cold, and some even 
thought it was hot. Factors as laboratory coat 
materials or air conditioners that cannot 
adjust the temperature to the conditions of the 
surrounding air temperature may contribute 
to the thermal comfort as well.

Therefore, thermal comfort in this room 
depends only on air conditioning, namely 
air flow, air freshness, air circulation, and air 
humidity. It is a room without the presence 
of ventilation with only one entrance to the 
laboratory room.  Windows cannot be opened, 
yet some of them found damaged. Changes 
in room temperature are considered “very 
comfortable” because the air conditioner is 
turned on throughout the learning activities, 
and remote control is available to regulate the 
temperature of the air conditioner. Predicted 
Mean Vote (PMV) is one method to objectively 
assess thermal comfort by measuring 
quantitative aspects. The advantage of this 
method is that it can directly determine the 
factors that affect thermal comfort and do 
immediate intervention. However, this research 
is limited by qualitative measurement.9

Room odours aspect in the anatomy 
class was considered as “comfortable”. The 
participants who filled out the critics column 
state that the decrease in the comfort aspect 
was caused by the smell of formalin from the 
cadaveric room, next to anatomy classroom. 
The cadaveric room and clasroom are 
separated, but the mull post is not covered 
by a door panel. Therefore, formalin odours 
infiltrate the classroom (Fig. 3b). Some of 
the participants were comfortable with the 
scent, and some didn’t smelt the formalin at 
all. The distance from the source of odor, the 
amount of formalin inhaled, and the amount of 
inhalation in one breath are other factors, but 
these variables are not measured.10

Aspect of sounds and noise in this clasroom 
are “very comfortable”. None of echoes 
(internal noise) were heard, noises from the 
air and lightning systems were low, and the 
sound coming from outside the room is barely 
heard. Few of the students felt uncomfortable 
with internal noise due to chatting during class, 

because  they could not hear what the lecturer 
said. This is anticipated by the availability of a 
microphone with speakers placed in the front 
center of the room. However, lecturers rarely 
use this media due to the frequent microphone 
feedbacks, making them “uncomfortable”. The 
majority of students feel “very comfortable” 
and assume because it is still in reasonable 
condition. Some important factors such as the 
distance of the loudspeaker, the distance of 
the listener, the angle between the listener to 
the wall and the size of the outdoors were not 
measured.11

The lighting system in the anatomy class 
depends on the 17 lamps in the room. As a 
class, the lightning power needs to range from 
200–800 lux, estimated by measuring room 
size, light flux, armature efficiency, and room 
utilization factors.12 Based on a previous study, 
light intensity is influenced by the color and 
size of the walls of the room. The color in this 
classroom is dominant with light colors; lilac 
on the front side and pale green on the other 
side, resulting considerable reflected light.13 
Intensity of light is enough and didn’t cause 
glare. The view from outside the window 
was limited by the opaque window glass on 
the lower half of the window, but students 
still feel “very comfortable” with this. Natural 
brightness in the form of sunlight can still 
enter the room through the reflection of light 
from the canopy outside the laboratory room, 
therefore glare does not arise directly. Despite 
natural brightness, the room was dark without 
the presence of electric lightning (Fig. 3h). 

The furniture used by students in the 
anatomy class was folded chair with fixed 
tables. A table that could not be shifted 
causes an “obstacle” for students to move or 
change their sitting position. This raises the 
perception of a narrow work area, resulting 
uncomfortable feeling, illustrated by the 
majority of the score “neutral”. Personal 
storage in the form of lockers and others were 
not provided. Students tend to put their bags 
and personal belongings on the back of the 
chair or the floor. A lack in maintenance and 
repair of furniture in the anatomy class was a 
chair that loses its seat cushion, a chair does 
not stand upright, or a tilted table was shown, 
by not repairing or replacing the defects  with 
a new one (Fig. 3e, f ).

The thin comfort response between 
“neutral” and “comfortable” is found in the 
privacy aspects of the room. The layout of 
the furniture (seats)  were too close making 
the area less private, both in visual and 
auditory (Fig. 3e). Many of the students felt 

Correlation between Learning Comfort and the Risk of Musculoskeletal Disorder in 
Anatomy Laboratorium Activity based on RULA Method



International Journal of Integrated Health Sciences. 2019;7(1) 21

that this was reasonable because of the many 
discussion activities in the anatomy class. 
Building security was still considered “very 
comfortable” by the majority of students, 
although in reality it was difficult to assess 
the robustness of the building, given that the 
anatomy laboratory was established since 
1957. Improvements may have been made 
to maintain building security, but the details 
were not explained.

Comfort aspects such as furniture, work 
area, room aroma, personal storage area, and 
maintenance and repairs show that they were 
still not optimal. This comfort status affects 
the modification of the work area, because 
it was not possible to create a perfect work 

area for each individual personally for a small 
fee. To create a good work area, objective 
measurement in every aspect of comfort is 
recommendable.3 This study was only limited 
to subjective measurements, so further 
research on these aspects is needed, hopefully 
that the comfort level of learning can achieve 
maximum results. 

A decrease in the level of comfort aspects 
will signal the central nervous system. The 
central nervous system will conduct the signal 
as a disruption in body homeostasis, so that 
the body will send effects such as pain or aches. 
Attitude changes will be made to overcome 
this.14 Changes in sitting posture that was 
originally done on the college chair, turned 

Fig. 3 Anatomy Laboratory Room, Front View (a), Lecturer’s Point of View (b), Right 
Back View (c), Left Back View (d), Facility: Chair and Space between Chairs 
(e), Position of Student’s Table (f), Lecturer’s Area (g), Condition of the Room 
without Lightning Systems (h)

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22 International Journal of Integrated Health Sciences. 2019;7(1)

into sitting with a cross-legged position on the 
floor to expand working area.  

This change in attitude causes sitting 
posture to be more bent because the back was 
not supported (Fig. 4a). Normally, the lumbar 
curve is in a neutral position (0o), with the 
cervical and lumbar regions are convex shaped 
anteriorly and concave posteriorly (lordosis), 
while the thoracic and sacrococygeal regions 

are kyphotic shaped. Based on the data 
obtained, almost all students have a trunkal 
position of 20–60o with a degree of risk of +3 
when scored using RULA (Fig. 4b). A bending 
position (columnar vertebral flexion) causes 
reduced lordosis in the cervical and lumbar 
regions, also the thoracic region will become 
more kyphotic. The form of an abnormal 
curvature will change the relationship 

Table 2 Correlation between Learning Comfort Aspect with the Risk of Musculoskeletal 
Disorder 

Comfort aspect (1-5) γ* p Interpretation
Temperature comfort 0.036 0.805 Negligible
Temperature shift 0.051 0.737 Negligible
Drafts 0.151* 0.321 Weak
Ventilation 0.120* 0.427 Weak
Air freshness -0.103* 0.457 Weak
Air circulation 0.025 0.868 Negligible
Room odours -0.107* 0.469 Weak
Humidity -0.100* 0.533 Weak
Internal noise (echoes) -0.055 0.736 Negligible
Specific noise (equipments) -0.037 0.821 Negligible
Noise by cooling devices 0.000 1.000 Negligible
External noise -0.116* 0.463 Weak
Noise from lightning system 0.225* 0.319 Moderate
Furniture -0.054 0.712 Negligible
Work storage 0.145* 0.286 Weak
Personal storage 0.091 0.482 Negligible
Amount of workspace 0.159* 0.264 Weak
Furniture layout 0.131* 0.365 Weak
Visual privacy -0.017 0.907 Negligible
Conversational privacy 0.139* 0.341 Weak
Natural brightness 0.250* 0.192 Moderate 
Electric lightning 0.264* 0.155 Moderate
Glare 0.050 0.790 Negligible
Colors 0.445* 0.008** Relatively strong
Esthetic aspect 0.175* 0.202 Weak
View from windows -0.006 0.968 Negligible
Maintenance and repair 0.280* 0.038 Moderate
Building security 0.347* 0.057 Moderate

Note: *Gamma’s correlation test (γ<0.01)

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Anatomy Laboratorium Activity based on RULA Method

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International Journal of Integrated Health Sciences. 2019;7(1) 23

between the gravitational line and each region 
of the spine, which can increase stress in the 
muscles, ligaments, bones, joints, and spinal 
nerves.15

The neutral position of the cranio-cervical 
(neck) region posture is a slight extension 
(30–35 degrees). Range of Movement (ROM) 
of neck flexion and extension involve several 
joints and muscles, namely: atlanto-occipital, 
anlanto axial, and intracervical articulation 
(C2–C7), sternocleidomastoid, longus colli and 
longus capitis. The writing posture on the low 
surface causes neck flexion that exceeds the 
neutral angle, so that the anterior longitudinal 
ligament relaxes, and the distance between 
the lamina widens.15 Most students positioned 
their neck in a flexed position, more than 10 

degrees (+2 and +3 risk degrees). Although 
the risk obtained is at a moderate level, but 
the correlation with the work storage and the 
amount of workspace is still weak, and has not 
shown a significant correlation.

Overall, no significant relationship was 
discovered between the learning comfort 
and the risk of musculoskeletal disorders.16 
Although there are several aspects that show 
a weak to moderate correlation, the number 
of significance has not been achieved. Aspects 
of changes in drafts, ventilation, air freshness, 
humidity, external noise, esthetic aspects, 
and conversation privacy indicate a “very 
comfortable” comfort level, but almost of the 
entire population have a moderate level of 
musculoskeletal risk. In addition, aspects in 

Leonardo Lubis, Jesslyn Christianningrum Putri, et al.

Fig. 4 Sitting Posture of the Students (a), Sitting posture and Risk Score of 
Musculoskeletal Disorder (b, c)

a  

b  c  

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24 International Journal of Integrated Health Sciences. 2019;7(1)

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L, Haukka E, Kausto J, et al. A screening tool 
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7. Jain R, Meena ML, Dangayach GS, Bhardwaj AK. 
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the form of work storage, work space, furniture 
layout, and room odours with a “neutral” or 
“comfortable” comfort level also have a weak 
but not significant correlation to the risk 
of musculoskeletal disorders. The results 
obtained are in contrast to studies conducted 
by Chiasson, that those who reported 
musculoskeletal pain, assessed their work 
area more negatively.17 One of the comfort 
aspect that has a relative strong significant 
relationship is colors (Table 2), but there are 
no studies that can support this findings yet.

Anthropometry by measurements of body 
dimensions and body mass index is an aspect 
that is needed to form an ergonomical work 
area. Height measurements namely sitting 
height, popliteal height, and knee height affect 
the approximate design of chair height. Knee-
knee length, distance between thigh and table, 
and body mass determine the area of the chair 
with the table. As a result of diverse human 
anthropometry, the determination of furniture 
dimensions is based on the population’s 
percentile. If the user had anthropometry 
measurements outside the average percentile, 
the position will change.3 Abnormal positions 
may increase the risk of musculoskeletal 
disorders, as well as the appearance of pain.

The results obtained did not show a 
significant association between BMI with 
musculoskeletal risk. This occurred because 
the BMI is only measured using height and 
weight data, while to assess ergonomic risk 
data is needed in the form of body dimensions 
as described previously. The findings were 
contrary to a previous study which stated 
that BMI has a relationship with the risk of 

musculoskeletal disorders. The modifications 
to class furniture, especially dimensional 
measurements in the form of seat height; seat 
depth and height; backrest; corner of the back 
with a chair; table height, width and depth can 
increase learning comfort and reduce the risk 
of musculoskeletal disorders.18

In this study, age and sex also showed 
no significant difference with the risk of 
musculoskeletal disorders. Theoritically, age 
affects the amount of risk, because age shows 
the duration of work. In accordance with the 
previous statement, that musculoskeletal risk 
will occur if a bad posture is maintained for a 
long duration. This study states the opposite, 
similar to the research conducted by Collins.19 
In the study, the range of ages between 18–51 
years did not show a significant difference. 
The narrow age range into a factor is the 
reason why the results obtained are not 
significant. Men and women have biological 
features that are different in shape, size, and 
musculoskeletal components so the expected 
results are a large amount of musculoskeletal 
risk.19 However, in this study there were no 
significant differences between the gender 
with the risk of musculoskeletal disorders, in 
contrast to the statements of several studies 
that showed that women had a greater 
risk than men due to hormonal effects and 
psychosocial symptoms such as stress.19,20

In conclusion, the study shows that learning 
comfort relate to  the risk of musculoskeletal 
disorders even though not all parameters have 
been proven but still hiding a potential risk 
in occurring the musculoskeletal disorders in 
students.

Correlation between Learning Comfort and the Risk of Musculoskeletal Disorder in 
Anatomy Laboratorium Activity based on RULA Method

:16–25

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