Smartphone Addiction and Relationship with Musculoskeletal Pain and Smartphone Usage among College Going Students”: A Cross Sectional Study
Ajay S and P Sneha Balakrishnan*
Department of Associate Professor, Department of Physiotherapy, St john’s Medical College, Rajiv Gandhi University Bangalore, Karnataka, India
*Corresponding Author: P Sneha Balakrishnan, Department of Associate Professor, Department of Physiotherapy, St john’s Medical College, Rajiv Gandhi University Bangalore, Karnataka, India.
Received:
May 17, 2025; Published: May 29, 2025
Abstract
Background: To provide some context, mobile phones are now the most widely used moveable electronic widgets. It is important to note that dependency on smartphones is closely associated with excessive and repetitive use, which can therefore result in seditious alterations in healthy joints.
Objectives: The primary objective of this study is to investigate the relationship between musculoskeletal discomfort and dependency on smart phones, as well as the length of time that individuals have been using these devices. This investigation will take into account gender, age, and the position that is most frequently held by college students.In this study, the collection of samples was carried out using a methodology known as purposive sampling.
Methods:A total of 120 participants were chosen for the study, and they were evaluated for their addiction to smart phones using a semi-structured general questionnaire and the SAS-SV. Additionally, musculoskeletal discomfort was evaluated using the mNMQ. For the purpose of statistical analysis, tools such as odds ratio, confidence interval, and multiple regression were utilised. The version 27 of SPSS was utilised.
Results: The findings of this study indicated that the most common pain associated with smartphone addiction was experienced in the neck (p-0.004) and wrist (0.004), with shoulder (0.025) coming in second place. Furthermore, it was shown that female participants were three times more likely to be stopped from experiencing pain, but students who dominated their right hand were five times more likely to be shielded from experiencing pain. There is a sevenfold increase in the likelihood of experiencing musculoskeletal discomfort among those who were addicted to smartphones.
Keywords: The Addiction Scale Short Version; Smartphone; Musculoskeletal Pain; and the Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire
References
- Al-Hadidi F., et al. “Association between mobile phone use and neck pain in university students: A cross-sectional study using numeric rating scale for evaluation of neck pain”. PloS One5 (2019): e0217231.
- Neupane , et al. “Text neck syndrome-systematic review”. Imperial Journal of Interdisciplinary Research 3 (2017): 141-148.
- Xie Y., et al. “Prevalence and risk factors associated with musculoskeletal complaints among users of mobile handheld devices: A systematic review”. Applied Ergonomics 59 (2017): 132-142.
- Kang JH., et al. “The effect of the forward head posture on postural balance in long time computer-based worker”. Annals of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine 36 (2012): 98-104.
- Sharan , et al. “Musculoskeletal disorders of the upper extremities due to extensive usage of hand-held devices”. Annals of Occupational and Environmental Medicine 26 (2014): 22.
- Berolo S., et al. “Musculoskeletal symptoms among mobile hand-held device users and their relationship to device use: A preliminary study in a Canadian university population”. Applied Ergonomics 42 (2011): 371-378.
- Namwongsa , et al. “Ergonomic risk assessment of smartphone users using the Rapid Upper Limb Assessment (RULA) tool”. PloS One 13.8 (2018): e0203394.
- Baabdullah A., et al. “The association between smartphone addiction and thumb/wrist pain: A cross-sectional study. Medicine (Baltimore) 99.10 (2020):
- Alkhateeb A., et al. “Smartphone addiction and its complications related to health and daily activities among university students in Saudi Arabia: A multicenter study”. Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care 7 (2020): 3220- 3224.
- Walankar , et al. “Musculoskeletal pain and risk factors associated with smartphone use in university students”. Indian Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine 25 (2021): 220-224.
- Ahmed S., et al. “Smartphone addiction and its impact on musculoskeletal pain in neck, shoulder, elbow, and hand among college going students: a cross-sectional study”. Bulletin of Faculty of Physical Therapy1 (2022): 5.
- Prajapati SP and Purohit A. “Prevalence of musculoskeletal disorder among college students in times of COVID-19 pandemic - an observational study”. International Journal of Health Sciences and Research 10 (2021): 214-219.
- Ratan ZA., et al. “Prevalence of Smartphone Addiction and Its Association with Sociodemographic, Physical and Mental Well- Being: A Cross-Sectional Study among the Young Adults of Bangladesh”. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 24 (2022): 16583.
- Zhong Y., et al. “Prevalence of smartphone addiction among Asian medical students: A meta-analysis of multinational observational studies”. International Journal of Social Psychiatry 6 (2022): 1171-1183.
- Alsalameh , et al. “Evaluating the relationship between smartphone addiction/overuse and musculoskeletal pain among medical students at Qassim University”. Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care 8 (2019): 2953.
- Alhazmi , et al. “Prevalence and factors associated with smartphone addiction among medical students at King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah”. Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences 34 (2018): 984–988.
- Kuorinka I., et al. “Standardized Nordic questionnaires for the analysis of musculoskeletal symptoms”. Applied Ergonomics 18 (1987): 233-237.
- Mustafaoglu R., et al. “The relationship between smartphone addiction and musculoskeletal pain prevalence among young population: A cross-sectional study”. The Korean Journal of Pain 34 (2021): 72–81.
- de Jesus Correia F., et al. “Smartphone addiction, musculoskeletal pain and functionality in university students - an observational study”. Psychology, Health and Medicine (2023): 1-
- Sirajudeen MS., et al. “Prevalence of text neck posture, smartphone addiction, and its association with neck disorders among university students in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia during the COVID-19 pandemic”. Peer J 10 (2022): e14443.
- Özdil K., et al. “Smartphone addiction and perceived pain among nursing students: a cross-sectional study”. Psychology, Health and Medicine 10 (2022): 2246-2260.
- Namwongsa S., et al. “Factors associated with neck disorders among university student smartphone users”. Work 61 (2018): 367-378.
- Karkusha RN., et al. “Effect of smartphone addiction on neck function among undergraduate physical therapist students”. The Egyptian Journal of Hospital Medicine4 (2019): 4034-4038.
- Shah PP and Sheth MS. “Correlation of smartphone use addiction with text neck syndrome and SMS thumb in physiotherapy students”. International Journal of Community Medicine And Public Health 5 (2018): 2512–2516.
- Derakhshanrad N., et al. “Neck pain associated with smartphone overuse: cross-sectional report of a cohort study among office workers”. European Spine Journal 2 (2021): 461-467.
- AlAbdulwahab SS., et al. “Smartphone use addiction can cause neck disability”. Musculoskeletal Care1 (2017): 10-12.
- Lee HJ. “Neck pain and functioning in daily activities associated with smartphone usage”. The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy3 (2016): 183-188.
- Suresh A., et al. “Impact of Smartphone Addiction on Neck Pain and Disability in University Students”. Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research6 (2021).
- Mokhtarinia , et al. “Smartphone addiction in children: patterns of use and musculoskeletal discomfort during the COVID-19 pandemic in Iran”. BMC Pediatric 22.1 (2022): 681.
- Ratan ZA., et al. “Smartphone Addiction and Associated Health Outcomes in Adult Populations: A Systematic Review”. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 22 (2021): 12257.
- Zhuang L., et al. “Association between excessive smartphone use and cervical disc degeneration in young patients suffering from chronic neck pain”. Journal of Orthopaedic Science 1 (2021): 110-115.
Citation
Copyright
Open Access by
Acta Scientific is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
