Despite the substantial increase in the number of adolescent smartphone users, few studies have investigated the behavioural effects of smartphone use on adolescent students as it relates to musculoskeletal discomfort. The purpose of this study was to explore the association between smartphone use and musculoskeletal discomfort in students at a Taiwanese junior college. We hypothesised that the duration of smartphone use would be associated with increased instances of musculoskeletal discomfort in these students. This cross-sectional study employed a convenience sampling method to recruit students from a junior college in southern Taiwan. All the students (n = 315) were asked to answer questionnaires on smartphone use. A descriptive analysis, stepwise regression, and logistic regression were used to examine specific components of smartphone use and their relationship to musculoskeletal discomfort. Nearly half of the participants experienced neck and shoulder discomfort. The stepwise regression results indicated that the number of body parts with discomfort (F = 6.009, p < 0.05) increased with hours spent using ancillary smartphone functions. The logistic regression analysis showed that the students who talked on the phone >3 h/day had a higher risk of upper back discomfort than did those who talked on the phone <1 h/day [odds ratio (OR) = 4.23, p < 0.05]. This study revealed that the relationship between smartphone use and musculoskeletal discomfort is related to the duration of smartphone ancillary function use. Moreover, hours spent talking on the phone was a predictor of upper back discomfort.

The findings demonstrate that adolescent females are deeply affected by their smartphone use. Smartphone dependence may decrease the vitality and mental health of male adolescents.

Abstract.[Purpose] The purposes of this study were to investigate the immediate and delayed effects of two directions of Kinesio taping (KT) on maximal isometric strength of the wrist and finger muscles of healthy adults and compare their differences.[Subjects] Nineteen healthy junior college students participated in this study. [Methods] The inhibition and facilitation KT techniques were separately used to tape on the dominant and non-dominant forearms of the participants, respectively. Maximal isometric strength of wrist extension, middle finger extension, and grip of both hands were measured before taping, immediately after taping, and after 24 h of taping (with the tape in situ).[Results] Compared with the baseline, the average maximal isometric strength of middle finger extensors increased considerably after application of the facilitation technique. No significant time effect was observed for measurement of middle finger extension strength on the dominant side or for wrist extension and grip strength on both sides. Significant differences between both taping techniques were observed for wrist and middle finger extension strength immediately after taping, and for middle finger extension after 24 h of taping.[Conclusion] The results suggest that the application direction of KT may have different effects on isometric muscle strength. Future studies involving a larger sample of subjects and a sham condition are warranted to confirm our findings.

It has been suggested that minimisation of energy cost is one of the primary determinants of wheelchair designs. Wheel camber is one important parameter related to wheelchair design and its angle may affect usability during manual propulsion. However, there is little available literature addressing the effect of wheel camber on the mechanical energy or power flow involved in manual wheelchair propulsion. Twelve normal subjects (mean age, 22.3 years; SD, 1.6 years) participated in this study. A video-tracking system and an instrumented wheel were used to collect 3D kinematic and kinetic data. Wheel camber of 0° and 15° was chosen to examine the difference between mechanical power and power flow of the upper extremity during manual wheelchair propulsion. The work calculated from power flow and the discrepancy between the mechanical work and power flow work of upper extremity had significantly greater values with increased camber. The upper arm had a larger active muscle power compared with that in the forearm and hand segments. While propelling the increased camber, the magnitude of both the proximal and distal joint power and proximal muscle power was increased in all three segments. While the propelling wheel with camber not only needs a greater energy cost but also there is greater energy loss.

Purpose: This pilot study aimed to determine the feasibility of hip corrective taping to improve self-reported knee pain and lower extremity joint kinematics in basketball players with patellofemoral pain. Patients and Methods: A single group pre-test and post-test design. Collegiate basketball players with patellofemoral pain were recruited. Three-dimensional hip and knee joint kinematics were measured during two tasks, single-leg squat (SLS) and lay-up jump (LUJ), and each task was conducted under no-taping and taping conditions. Subjective report of pain was compared between no-taping and taping conditions only during SLS. Results: Twelve collegiate basketball players with patellofemoral pain (median age, 22.7 [2.5] years; mean height, 173.8 ± 7.4 cm; mean weight, 72.5 ± 12.8 kg) participated in this study. Compared with no-taping, the use of hip corrective taping significantly increased the hip abduction angle at the instant of the maximal vertical ground reaction force during LUJ (no-taping vs taping: 0.6°± 6.3°vs 3.3°± 5.1°, p = 0.029), and also caused a trend of decreased maximal hip internal rotation angle during SLS (no-taping vs taping: 8.0°± 6.6°vs 4.7°± 6.9°, p = 0.050). Hip corrective taping also improved self-reported knee pain during SLS (no-taping vs taping: 3.4 ± 1.7 vs 2.6 ± 1.0, p = 0.046). Conclusion: Hip corrective taping may be used as an effective intervention for athletes with patellofemoral pain during basketball-related tasks.