The prevalence of musculoskeletal diseases in the population and, in particular, in children and adolescents is steadily increasing [1–4]. An essential role in this is played by educational process factors [5, 6] since the physical development and formation of the musculoskeletal system of adolescents is not yet complete and ensuring a safe and comfortable learning environment is an essential condition for preserving their health and harmonious development [7].
In recent years, the educational system has undergone significant changes: the educational load on students has increased, and information and communication technologies have become an integral part of the educational process, PCs are used as technical learning tools. Their application forms students’ cognitive activity and creative potential, allows increasing the amount of information received, intensifying the learning process and making it visual. Educational portals, e-textbooks, online testing, preparation of essays and presentations have become the main methods of teaching modern youth, starting from primary school. The available published data indicate that the average time spent by modern adolescents on using information and communication technologies on a school day is 7–10 hours, taking into account the use of various electronic devices (laptops, tablets) and leisure activities [8, 9].
The active introduction of information and communication technologies in the educational process is associated with the emergence of new hygienic factors that adversely affect students’ health [10]. According to the literature data [10–12], in case of non-compliance with the hygiene requirements established, working with video display terminals (VDT) can negatively affect all biological characteristics of the adolescent’s body, and first of all, his/her physical and mental health.
Among the unfavourable factors, it is necessary to distinguish long-term static body position and irrational working postures that are inconvenient from the physiological and biomechanical points of view, which, together with hypodynamia and monotonous load, lead to overstrain of individual organs and body systems, and musculoskeletal disorders [10, 13]. The main reasons for this may be unsatisfactory organization and non-ergonomic characteristics of workplaces equipped with PCs when the size and layout of premises, equipment and furniture do not meet the established sanitary and hygienic requirements.