Prevalence of musculoskeletal pain in adolescents and its association with the use of electronic devices

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The use of electronic devices has reconfigured the daily life of adolescents; however, their excessive use may be associated to health problems. This study aimed at observing the prevalence of musculoskeletal pain among adolescents and its association with the use of computers and videogames. METHODS: Sample was made up of 265 adolescents of both genders (14 to 19 years old), students of a public school, who have answered a questionnaire about the use of electronic devices, musculoskeletal pain, physical activity and demographics. Values of absolute and relative frequency, confidence intervals and mean and standard deviation were expressed for descriptive analysis. Independent t and Chi-square tests were used for comparison between genders, and multiple logistic regression model was used for association test. All tests had significance level of 5%. RESULTS: The prevalence of musculoskeletal pain was 72.1%, being significantly higher for females. There has been no association between musculoskeletal pain and the use of electronic devices; however it was identified that females had 10.66 times more probability of reporting this type of pain. Cervical and thoraco-lumbar pains were associated to females (OR=1.80), and individuals attending the 2 nd and 3 rd year were associated to cervical pain (OR≥2.26). CONCLUSION: There has been high prevalence of musculoskeletal pain among adolescents, especially females. Although not observing association between pain and use of electronic devices, it was noted that those attending the last years of high school and of the female gender had higher risk to develop musculoskeletal pain.

The Relation between Health Status and Internet Addiction among Adolescents

“…In addition to lack of physical activities, this leads to malfunctioning and increasing the pain intensity. The findings of Saueressig (2015) and Derbyshire et al (2013) were congruent with the present study as they found that significant relation between musculoskeletal complaints in both adolescents' genders and use of computers for more than 3 hours daily (37,38) . Guzel (2018), Zheng et al (2016) and Zein El Dein (2013) findings were congruent with the present study as they described that the higher quantity of time for the Internet use is intensely associated with a higher level of physical complaints (pain in arm & wrist), also using a mouse and keyboard for many hours per day can lead to repetitive stress injuries (39,40,41) .…”

Effect of excessive internet use in Saudi and Egyptian teenagers’ health: Comparative study

“…Another two studies done by Saueressig et al (2015) [50] and Derbyshire et al (2013) [51] found that a significant relation between musculoskeletal pain complaints in both teenagers' genders and use of computers for more than 3 hours daily. In addition to physical activities, which improve musculoskeletal function and avoid muscle stiffness with excessive use of internet, it was malfunctioning and increasing the pain intensity.…”

Low back pain in adolescents and association with sociodemographic factors, electronic devices, physical activity and mental health

“…In both developed and developing countries, the prevalence of LBP in high school adolescents has been reported. In Shanghai (China), 3 the prevalence was 33.1%; in Brazil, this rate was reported as 13.7% in Pelotas, 4 13.4% in Porto Alegre, 5 42.1% in Petrolina, 6 and 46.9% in Recife. 7 …”