Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2018 Mar-Apr;7(2):337-339.
doi: 10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_326_17.

Musculoskeletal problems in frequent computer and internet users

Tasneem Borhany  1 , Erum Shahid  2 , Wasim Ahmed Siddique  1 , Hussain Ali  3
Affiliations

Musculoskeletal problems in frequent computer and internet users

Tasneem Borhany et al. J Family Med Prim Care. 2018 Mar-Apr.

Abstract

Aim: This study was carried out to see the frequency of musculoskeletal problems in frequent Computer and Internet Users.

Methods: This was a Cross Sectional Study performed in the community and we chose Office workers and students aged 18 to 50 years using Computers and Internet for not less than 3 hours per day. After a verbal consent, they were given a questionnaire in English. People having prior diagnosed musculoskeletal problems were excluded.

Results: Total number of participants were 150, out of which 80% were males, and 67 (44.7%) suffered from musculoskeletal problems, affecting at least one of the four anatomical sites (low back, neck, shoulder, wrist/hand). Common symptoms were Headache, which was seen in 46% and neck pain in 41.3% of subjects. Whereas wrist pain was least commonly seen in 16% of subjects. Independent t test was used to compare the musculoskeletal problems with duration of computer use which has a significant value i.e. less than 0.05.

Conclusion: Musculoskeletal symptoms are quite common, headache and back pain being most common symptoms. These symptoms are associated with prolonged use of computer and internet and often left unreported and unrelated.

Keywords: Back pain; computer; cross sectional; internet; wrist.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

There are no conflicts of interest.

References

    1. Oha K, Animägi L, Pääsuke M, Coggon D, Merisalu E. Individual and work-related risk factors for musculoskeletal pain: A cross-sectional study among estonian computer users. BMC Musculoskelet Disord. 2014;15:181. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Khan R, Surti A, Rehman R, Ali U. Knowledge and practices of ergonomics in computer users. J Pak Med Assoc. 2012;62:213–7. - PubMed
    1. Broumand MG, Ayatoullahi M. Evaluation of the frequency of complications of working with computers in a group of young adult computer users. Pak J Med Sci. 2008;24:702–6.
    1. Ellahi A, Khalil SM, Akram F. Computer users at risk: Health disorders associated with prolonged computer use. E3 J Bus Manage Econ. 2011;2:171–82.
    1. Khan MY, Siddiqui MA. Frequency of low back pain in computer users. Pak J Med Sci. 2005;21:159–63.