Creative Cervical (C2) Supporter

Abstract

THE PROBLEM: A flexed head-neck posture may persist while using a hand-held digital device, which increases pressure on the cervical spine due to gravitational demand, which can lead to severe pain symptoms and musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). The pressure occurred by such awkward postures is more than the neutral posture while performing the same task, severely affecting muscle loading and forces. However, neck and upper extremity pains are the most common complaints among the heavy users. Various postures adapted sitting, standing, one/two-handed and walking are different ways to engage with such hand-held devices. As a result, respondents' postures and the musculoskeletal disorder (MSD) risks associated with corresponding joint locations are likely to be distinct. The intrinsic uses of smartphones and computers have been associated with repetitive movements and awkward posture leading to musculoskeletal pain. The existing neck supporters are all neck enveloping based designs which lacks to provide a relaxing posture of head-neck.

THE SOLUTION: The proposed design will offer a flexible, sleek and light weight neck supporter which avoids excessive flexed neck posture and provides chin rest, reducing muscle activity during digital hand-held device usage. This creative cervical (C2) supporter is positioned on the shoulder region that spreads the weight of the head across the trapezius and clavicle regions enhancing user comfort. C2 is a low cost, collapsible and wearable non-enveloping neck free supporter. The aesthetics of the supporter is stylish as well as sleek that can either be worn inside or outside the shirts / t-shirts of the user. The proposed device suggests preventative ergonomic and biomechanical measures to enhance the subject's behavior when interacting with digital hand-held devices.

TARGET MARKET: The target market is both male and female starting from the age group of 18 to 60 approx. The proposed creative cervical supporter is a trendy gadget to be used by users prone to long time work habits on digital hand-held devices especially youngsters and office sitting workers. This gadget will stand out as a potential and modish design which will be designed and manufactured in India. All such similar devices are currently being imported in India are not solely manufactured here. Hence, designing and manufacturing of the proposed C2 device is a step towards ‘Make in India’ and ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ campaign.