Ergonomic factors affecting handwriting: the pinch and grip forces of bilinguals in english and chinese

Bilingual students write in different languages for academic purposes. However, it is unclear if they utilize the same ergonomic strategies while doing so. Aim: To analyse and compare handwriting ergonomics with a pen in English and Chinese. Participants: Forty individuals bilingual in English and Chinese and above 18 years old. Methods: Participants’ writing hands were photographed and the length, width, area of hand, and length of fingers derived using photogrammetry. Participants copied the same text in English and Chinese a week apart in a random order. Preferred writing grip was identified and the maximum and mean forces exerted by each finger on the pen measured using a finger pressure system. Before and after writing, selfperceived soreness was recorded on a Visual Analog Scale. Two measurements of maximal three-point pinch and grip efforts were also recorded using a pinch gauge and hand dynamometer respectively. Within-subject comparisons between conditions were tested. Correlation between hand anthropometrics and type of grip was also tested. info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion