Relationships between cervical sagittal posture, muscle endurance, joint position sense, range of motion and level of smartphone addiction

Abstract

Background Frequent smartphone use in a pathological way forces the user to adopt a compromised posture. This gradually results in changes to both the postural and musculoskeletal systems. This study’s objectives were evaluation of head posture, muscle endurance, neck range of motion (ROM) and joint position sense in two separate smartphone user groups, one ‘Addicted’, the other ‘Non-Addicted’. Methods A sample of convenience (n = 60) was recruited from medical students (age 24.57 ± 4.38, 53.3% male) with a history of smartphones use > 2 h/day for 1-year. Based on the cut-off values of the smartphone addiction scale-short version (SAS-SV), participants were entered into each group (cut-off for male ≥ 31, female ≥ 33). Neck muscle endurance time, joint position error and cervical ROM, along with forward head posture parameters of craniovertebral angle (CVA), shoulder angle (SA), sagittal head angle (SHA) and forward head distance (FHD)) were evaluated. A Mann–Whitney test and Spearman correlation coefficient were used to determine the difference between groups and the correlations between variables. Results The difference between ‘Addicted’ and ‘Non-Addicted’ groups was confirmed by the values for SAS-SV scores (25.23 ± 5.5 versus 43.9 ± 6.61) (p < 0.001). There were statistically significant differences between groups for the CVA and FHD parameters (p < 0.001). Further, the neck extensor muscle endurance (97 ± 3.79 versus 74.86 ± 2.23 s), was significantly different between groups (p = 0.010) but not after Bonferroni correction. There was no notable difference in the neck flexor muscle endurance, joint position error, SA, and SHA parameters between groups (p > 0.05). Conclusions There is a positive correlation between smartphone addiction and both decreased extensor muscle endurance and changes in neck postural alignment.

Investigation of Cervical Posture, Sleep Quality and Perceived Health Risk in Technology Addicted Adolescents and Young Adults: A Comparative Study

“…In a study by Cetin et al, the relationship between smartphone use and cervical posture was investigated, and a strong relationship was found only between CVA and addiction [24]. The posture parameters we used in our study were compared for the cervical posture of individuals addicted and non-addicted smartphones in the young-adults population, and a significant difference was found only in CVA [25]. In our study, only the CVA was found to be significantly impaired in the posture analyzes of the addicted groups, consistent with the literature.…”

Factors Associated with Screen Addiction in Adults: A Prospective Study

“…These negative effects include postural disorders of the spine; forward head, thoracic kyphosis, scoliosis, increased lumbar lordosis, kypholordosis and flat back postures (Piekartz, 2015). The spine is a whole; angular deviation in one curvature results in another curvature (Torkamani et al, 2023). The ideal position of the head and neck is achieved with minimum effort on the muscles.…”

Predicting mechanical neck pain intensity in computer professionals using machine learning: identification and correlation of key features

“…Such an observation becomes startlingly evident in corporate and office settings, where employees, often tied to their desks for extended periods, account for nearly half of all neck pain incidents annually ( 6 , 7 ). One frequent manifestation of this discomfort is a noticeable reduction in the cervical range of motion (ROM) ( 8 , 9 ), which, in layperson’s terms, implies limited neck movement flexibility.…”