Study of educational furniture conformity with student's anthropometric dimensions of Isfahan university of medical sciences

Musculoskeletal disorders, early fatigue induced by static work and the same symptoms are caused by inappropriate designed tools, equipment, building and workplace. Inadequate educational furniture is taken to be the reason of severe posture problems such as low back pain, spinal disorders, fatigue, shoulder and neck pain, and disturbance circulation in legs. So ergonomic design of educational furniture should be carefully considered. The present research was a cross-sectional study. Samples included desks and chairs (n=150) chosen from reading rooms of dormitories and faculties of Isfahan university of medical sciences Isfahan- Iran. In the study 2 parameters from desk and 5 parameters from chairs were assessed using a tape-measure and a set-sqare. Data were analyzed by SPSS ver 10 software. Comparing the results from the mean of measured values (for seating height, desk height and desk clearance) indicated a significant difference between them (p<0. 00). Findings of the study showed that existing standard in Iran about chairs and tables for educational institutions should be reviewed. Also the most important problem with chairs and desks are seating height and desk surface height respectively. These two parameters didn’t match with anthropometric dimensions of the sudents of Isfahan university of medical sciences.