Comparing the effect of the posture of using smartphones on head and neck angles among college students

Abstract

Smartphone users' posture can affect the musculoskeletal load of the user's neck. This study aims to compare the effect of the posture of using smartphones on head and neck angles among college students. The cross-sectional study was conducted among 80 college students. The Severity of Neck Pain (SNP) and the head and neck tilt angles, the gaze angle, and the amount of change in the forward head posture were determined. The angles were measured in three postures including standing, sitting on a chair with and without a backrest. Most of the participants (51.3%) reported moderate and severe neck pain. The angles during using smartphone had a significant difference in different positions, so that the best head (100.6 ± 11.3°) and neck (32.5 ± 11.2°) tilt angles and gaze angle (58.2 ± 13.7°) were in sitting position with leaning on a backrest of the chair. Head (109.6 ± 14.4°) and neck (22.0 ± 12.6°) tilt angles, and the forward head posture (15.9 ± 4.9 cm) have the worst posture in sitting position on a chair without a backrest while gaze angle (67.1 ± 12.0°) has the most awkward posture in standing. Practitioner summary: The posture of using a smartphone affects the amount of pressure on the neck. This study aims to investigate the effect of different positions of using smartphone on head and neck angles among Iranian university students. The angles during using smartphone had a significant difference in different positions.

Keywords: Neck; posture; smartphone; student.