Exploring sitting posture and discomfort using nonlinear analysis methods.
-The possibilities for describing sitting postural control using nonlinear methods was investigated during long-term driving. A total of 85 min of motorway driving intervals (n=12) were used for analysis. The results show that contrary to conventional analysis techniques, nonlinear measures were able to identify a threshold behavior describing the change in discomfort. Visual recurrence plots showed a clear change in the underlying dynamics after 1 hr of driving. The result was confirmed by the statistically significant differences in the stability and complexity of the COP time series, as explored using recurrence quantification analysis and spatio-temporal entropy. The findings of the experiment are consistent with the literature, and present a novel way to uncover transitions of discomfort stages in sitting behavioral research.
Hermann
Sonja
S
The author is with the Department of Ergonomics, Technische Universität München, D-85747 Garching, Germany. Sonja.Hermann@gmx.net
D000328:Adult; D000465:Algorithms; D001334:Automobile Driving; D003198:Computer Simulation; D003936:Diagnosis, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008954:Models, Biological; D009068:Movement / Q000502:physiology*; D017711:Nonlinear Dynamics; D011187:Posture / Q000502:physiology*; D011312:Pressure