Technology on the Occurrence of Muscoskeletal Disorders in Students

The Effect of Technology on the Occurrence of Muscoskeletal Disorders in Students of A&B

To investgate the long use of electronic devices that forces the person to adopt an uncomfortable posture which leads to the appearance of musculoskeletal disorders such as neck pain, thoracic pain, back pain and tendonitis of the upper extremities due to writing messages and especially when the person uses only one hand.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Pain, Chronic; Posture Disorders in Children
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Questionnaire

Detailed Description

Due to the uncontrolled use of electronic devices, the purpose of this research is to initially prove that the long-term use of electronic devices is a factor in the occurrence of pain in the musculoskeletal system in students of A '& B' of High school. A secondary question of the present study is the hypothesis that adopting the wrong posture while using smart devices plays an important role in the onset of symptoms in one or more parts of the body. Finally, the third research question of the present study concerns whether long-term use of electronic devices is responsible for reducing physical activity in students.

In order to prove the positive correlation between technology and musculoskeletal disorders but also to answer the above questions, a questionnaire was distributed online to one hundred and twenty students of A '& B' Lyceum from all over Greece, which was promoted online. More specifically, the questionnaire included questions from two standard questionnaires, the Internet Addiction Test (IAT) and the Nordic Muscuskeletal Questionnaire (NQS).In addition they completed a medical history and supplementary questions about their physical condition and the attitudes they adopt when using electronic devices.

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Actual): 120

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Greece
  • Central Macedonia
    • Lamía, Central Macedonia, Greece, 35100
      • University of Thessaly

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 15 years to 17 years (CHILD)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: N/A
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

• Sampling Method: Probability Sample

Study Population

A sample of 120 people was collected from all over Greece, more specifically 7.6% belong to the region of Attica, 7.6% belong to the region of Western Greece, 0.8% belong to the region of Thessaly, 32.8% belong to the region of Central Macedonia and 51.3% belong to the region of Crete . Criteria for participation in the research were students who were competent, without psychiatric disorders who attended the A & B High School, while the exclusion criteria from the research were students who have undergone surgery on the musculoskeletal system.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• without psychiatric disorders
• attended the A & B High School

Exclusion Criteria:

• undergone surgery on the musculoskeletal system

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Number of groups / cohorts

1

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort	Intervention / Treatment
Observational Group; A sample of 120 people was collected from all over Greece, more specifically 7.6% belong to the region of Attica, 7.6% belong to the region of Western Greece, 0.8% belong to the region of Thessaly, 32.8% belong to the region of Central Macedonia and 51.3% belong to the region of Crete .	Other: Questionnaire; answered questions from two standard questionnaires the Internet Addiction Test (IAT) which examines students' dependence on the internet and the Nordic Muscuskeletal Questionnaire (NQS) which examines the onset of symptoms from the musculoskeletal system

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire (NQS)	Long-term use of electronic devices in the occurrence of musculoskeletal disorders on neck pain, on shoulder pain, on hip pain, on knees pain, on fingers pain	1 day
Internet Addiction Test (IAT)	Incorrect posture and long use of electronic devices as a cause of musculoskeletal disorders, during the use of the mobile phone in a sitting position, in lying down and in standing position.	1 day
Internet Addiction Test (IAT)	Low physical condition and long use of electronic devices	1 day
Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire (NGS)	Investigation of pain treatment of students who reported symptoms in the musculoskeletal system by medical help or medication to treat pain.	1 day

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Thessaly

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• 1. Wolf, C., Wolf, S., Weiss, M., & Nino, G. (2018). Children's environmental health in the digital era: understanding early screen exposure as a preventable risk factor for obesity and sleep disorders. Children, 5(2), 31. 2. Canillas, F., Colino, A., & Menéndez, P. (2014). Cellular phone overuse as a cause for trapeziometacarpal osteoarthritis: a two case report. Journal of orthopaedic case reports, 4(4), 6. 3. Kim, H. J., & Kim, J. S. (2015). The relationship between smartphone use and subjective musculoskeletal symptoms and university students. Journal of physicaltherapyscience, 27(3), 575-579. 4. Eitivipart, A. C., Viriyarojanakul, S., & Redhead, L. (2018). Musculoskeletal disorder and pain associated with smartphone use: A systematic review of biomechanical evidence. Hong Kong Physiotherapy Journal, 38(02), 77-90. 5. Lepp, A., Barkley, J. E., Sanders, G. J., Rebold, M., & Gates, P. (2013). The relationship between cell phone use, physical and sedentary activity, and cardiorespiratory fitness in a sample of US college students. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and physical activity, 10(1), 1-9 6. Billieux, J., Philippot, P., Schmid, C., Maurage, P., De Mol, J., & Van der Linden, M. (2015). Is dysfunctional use of the mobile phone a behavioural addiction? confronting symptom-based versus process-based approaches. Clinical psychology & psychotherapy, 22(5), 460-468. 7. Jung, S. I., Lee, N. K., Kang, K. W., Kim, K., & Do, Y. L. (2016). The effect of smartphone usage time on posture and respiratory function. Journal of physical therapy science, 28(1), 186-189. 8. Knapik, J. J. (2015). The importance of physical fitness for injury prevention: part 1. Journal of special operations medicine: a peer reviewed journal for SOF medical professionals, 15(1), 123-127. 9. Penglee, N., Christiana, R. W., Battista, R. A., & Rosenberg, E. (2019). Smartphone use and physical activity among college students in health science-related majors in the United States and Thailand. International journal of environmental research and public health, 16(8), 1315. 10. Gustafsson, E. (2012). Ergonomic recommendations when texting on mobile phones. Work, 41(Supplement 1), 5705-5706. 11. Cramer, H., Mehling, W. E., Saha, F. J., Dobos, G., & Lauche, R. (2018). Postural awareness and its relation to pain: validation of an innovative instrument measuring awareness of body posture in patients with chronic pain. BMC musculoskeletal disorders, 19(1), 1-10. 12. Brumagne, S., Janssens, L., Janssens, E., & Goddyn, L. (2008). Altered postural control in anticipation of postural instability in persons with recurrent low back pain. Gait & posture, 28(4), 657-662. 13. Revel, M., Andre-Deshays, C., & Minguet, M. (1991). Cervicocephalic kinesthetic sensibility in patients with cervical pain. Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitation, 72(5), 288-291. 14. Brumagne, S., Cordo, P., Lysens, R., Verschueren, S., & Swinnen, S. (2000). The role of paraspinal muscle spindles in lumbosacral position sense in individuals with and without low back pain. Spine, 25(8), 989-994. 15. Langford, M. L. (1994). Poor posture subjects a worker's body to muscle imbalance, nerve compression. Occupational Health & Safety (Waco, Tex.), 63(9), 38-40. 16. Borhany, T., Shahid, E., Siddique, W. A., & Ali, H. (2018). Musculoskeletal problems in frequent computer and internet users. Journal of family medicine and primary care, 7(2), 337. 17. Ellahi, A., Khalil, M. S., & Akram, F. (2011). Computer users at risk: Health disorders associated with prolonged computer use. Journal of Business Management and Economics, 2(4), 171-182.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (ACTUAL): February 1, 2021
• Primary Completion (ACTUAL): March 30, 2021
• Study Completion (ACTUAL): June 30, 2021

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: January 20, 2022
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 14, 2022
• First Posted (ACTUAL): February 24, 2022

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (ACTUAL): February 24, 2022
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 14, 2022
• Last Verified: February 1, 2022

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: addiction; posture; electronic device; musculetical pain
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Pain; Neurologic Manifestations; Chronic Pain
• Other Study ID Numbers: KC26042015

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: UNDECIDED

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No