Neck pain associated with smartphone usage among university students

Abstract

Objective: Neck and shoulder pain has been linked to prolonged periods of flexed neck posture. However, the influences of factors related to individuals' characteristics and the time duration and position of using smartphones on the severity and duration of neck and shoulder pain among university students are not well studied. The aim of this study was to identify factors related to individual demographics, the history of neck pain, and the time duration and positions of using the smartphone that could be associated with neck pain severity and duration and to determine the influence of these factors on neck pain severity and duration among university students.

Subjects and methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on students from King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, using a self-administered online questionnaire. Data was collected between March 10th, 2020, and October 18th, 2020, with 867 questionnaires filled out using Google Forms as a web-based questionnaire. Questionnaires were distributed to students by posting them in their batch groups on Facebook, an online social media and social networking service. Students from five healthcare faculties were included: the faculties of medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, nursing, and medical rehabilitation sciences.

Results: Students' gender, time spent on using their phones, time spent on devices for studying, and having a history of neck or shoulder pain were significant predictors of neck pain duration in the univariate model (p≤0.018). In the multivariate model, both having a history of neck or shoulder pain (95%CI: -2.357 to -1.268, p<0.001) and the hand-side used for writing (95%CI: 0.254-0.512, p<0.001) were significant predictors of neck pain severity, and they both explained 8.4% of its variance. A previous history of neck and shoulder pain, as well as time spent studying on devices, were predictors of the duration of neck pain. According to a study by researchers at Cardiff University, the hand side used for writing on smart devices was also a good predictor of the severity of neck pain. A history of neck or shoulder pain (95% CI: 0.567-0.738, p = <0.001) and the number of hours spent on the device for studying (95% CI: 0.254-0.512, p<0.001) were significant predictors of neck and shoulder pain duration, and they both explained 8.4% of its variance. While having a history of neck or shoulder pain (95% CI: 0.639-0.748, p<0.001) and the hand-side used for writing (95% CI: -1.18 - -0.081, p = 0.025) were significant predictors of neck and shoulder pain severity, they explained 11.3% of its variance.

Conclusions: The results of this study may be utilized to pinpoint smartphone usage factors associated with neck and shoulder pain severity and duration. Further, the findings of this study might help to develop preventive strategies to lower the impacts of these factors on the development of neck and shoulder pain severity and duration among university students.

Fig 1. Shows the frequency and percentage measures of neck pain by gender and age among university students.

Overall, the current study involved 867 (86.7%) university students. There were 501 males (57.8%) and 366 females among the participants (42.2%).

Fig 2. Shows the frequency and percentage measures of neck pain by faculties among university students.

According to the figure, the majority of participating university students were from the faculty of medicine (24.80%), followed by the faculty of pharmacy (21.22%), and the faculty of dentistry (19.84%), with the lowest students coming from the faculty of rehabilitation (17.30%) and nursing (16.84%).

Fig 3. Shows the frequency and percentage measures of neck pain by pain duration per hours among university students.

As for the pain duration in this figure, the highest percentage was found to be 233 (26.87%) for one hour, while the lowest was 21 (2.42%) for five hours.

Fig 4. Shows the frequency and percentage measures of neck pain by the most common timing of the pain among university students.

For the pain duration shown in this figure, the most common time of pain was 279 (32.18%) at night, while the lowest percentage was 57 (6.57%) in the afternoon.

Fig 5. Shows the frequency and percentage measures of neck pain by pain intensity (on a scale of 1–10) among university students.

In this figure, the results of the current study show that 292 (33.68%) had a pain intensity of less than 4/10 and 322 (37.2%) had a pain intensity higher than 4/10, whereas 253 (29.18%) reported no pain at all.

Fig 6. Shows the frequency and percentage measures of neck pain by pain frequency (in days per week) among university students.

The figure shows the frequency and percentages in the results of the study, which revealed that the highest pain frequency in days per week was seen at 51 (5.88), followed by four days at 55 (6.33), and five days at 36 (4.15). In contrast, the lowest pain frequency per week is on day 198 (22.84), followed by 2 days 123 (14.19), and 3 days 121 (13.96).

Fig 7. Shows the frequency and percentage measures of neck pain by level of intensity among university students.

This figure shows the findings of the current study, which are that 292 (33.7%) of the participants have mild pain, 233 (26.7%) have moderate pain, and 89 (24.9%) have severe pain.