Prevalence of musculoskeletal pain in adolescents and association with computer and videogame use

Determination of musculoskeletal system pain, physical activity intensity, and prolonged sitting of university students using smartphone

Study aim: The purpose of this study was to examine smartphone-using university students’ musculoskeletal system pain complaints, duration of smartphone and computer usage, participation in moderate-vigorous physical activities (MVPA), and prolonged sitting time.

Material and methods: This study was conducted on Hitit University students (n = 387; 206 female, 181 male) in the province of Çorum. The International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Short Form (IPAQ-SF), the Physical Activity Assessment Ques­tionnaire (PAAQ) (sports/exercise activities section), and a personal information form prepared by the researchers were used as data collection tools. Descriptive statistics and the t-test were used to determine differences between groups. The Pearson chi-square test was used to examine the relationship between categorical variables.

Results: It was observed that half of the participants with musculoskeletal system pain complaints (54.5%) feel the pain in all four areas (neck, shoulder, upper and lower back). There was no statistically significant relationship between physical activity intensity and pain complaint (p > 0.05). The students with musculoskeletal pain complaints spend more time on the smartphone and computer than students who do not have pain complaints (p < 0.05). During electronic device usage, the students who are in the low-intensity physical activity category spend more time sitting down than students in the moderate/vigorous intensity physical activity category (p < 0.05).

Conclusions: In consequence, information can be provided about the importance of reducing sitting time during smartphone use and increasing the duration of moderate/vigorous-intensity physical activity (PA) so awareness can be raised on the issue among university students.