Cervical Parameters and Body Awareness in Relation to Smartphone Addiction

November 20, 2025 updated by: Nagihan Acet

Does Smartphone Addiction Affect Cervical Spine Mobility, Head Posture, Body Awareness, and Pain Pressure Threshold?

The study was planned as a observational, cross-sectional study

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Actual)

40

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

The study population consists of smartphone users aged between 18 and 25.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • being a smartphone user
  • being between the ages of 18 and 25

Exclusion Criteria:

  • neck pain
  • radicular pain
  • neurological symptoms
  • cervical surgery or cervical trauma

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort
Intervention / Treatment
Smartphone addiction group
Participants with smartphone addiction
Other: Assessment of head posture:
Head posture was assessed using photographic methods and craniovertebral angle
Other: Assessment of Cervical Pain Pressure Threshold
The cervical PPTs were assessed using a mechanical pressure algometer (Baseline Force Gauge Model 12-0304; Baseline, NY, USA).
Other: Assessment of general cervical mobility
Cervical mobility was assessed using the CROM (Cervical Range of Motion) deluxe device.
Other: Assessment of upper cervical mobility
It will be assessed using the CROM device and the flexion-rotation test.
Other: Assessment of Body Awareness
Body awareness will be assessed using a questionnaire designed to determine normal or abnormal sensitivity levels in body composition.
Control Group
Participants without smarthone addiction
Other: Assessment of head posture:
Head posture was assessed using photographic methods and craniovertebral angle
Other: Assessment of Cervical Pain Pressure Threshold
The cervical PPTs were assessed using a mechanical pressure algometer (Baseline Force Gauge Model 12-0304; Baseline, NY, USA).
Other: Assessment of general cervical mobility
Cervical mobility was assessed using the CROM (Cervical Range of Motion) deluxe device.
Other: Assessment of upper cervical mobility
It will be assessed using the CROM device and the flexion-rotation test.
Other: Assessment of Body Awareness
Body awareness will be assessed using a questionnaire designed to determine normal or abnormal sensitivity levels in body composition.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Assessment of Body Awareness
Time Frame: Day 1
Body awareness will be assessed using a questionnaire designed to determine normal or abnormal sensitivity levels in body composition. The questionnaire consists of four subgroups: 1) Changes in body processes, 2) Sleep-wake cycle, 3) Prediction of disease onset, and 4) Prediction of body responses, with a total of 18 items. Participants were asked to rate each item using a scale from 1 to 7. It has a minimum score of 18 and a maximum score of 126, with higher scores indicating greater body awareness. The validity and reliability of this questionnaire have been reported to be high.
Day 1
Assessment of head posture
Time Frame: Day 1
Head posture will be assessed using photographic methods and craniovertebral angle. The craniovertebral angle is calculated as the angle between a horizontal line passing through C7 and a line extending from the tragus of the ear to C7 [23]. An angle less than 49 degrees indicates an anterior head position.
Day 1
Assessment of Cervical Pain Pressure Threshold (PPT)
Time Frame: Day 1
The cervical PPTs will be assessed using a mechanical pressure algometer (Baseline Force Gauge Model 12-0304; Baseline, NY, USA). A force will be applied perpendicularly to a 0.5 cm² area at an approximate rate of 3 N/s. While the patient is seated, pressure is applied at the midpoint of the upper trapezius muscle, and 2 cm lateral to the C2 spinous process bilaterally [25]. For each area, two measurements are taken at intervals, and the average of these measurements is calculated to determine the final value.
Day 1
Assessment of general cervical mobility
Time Frame: Day 1
Cervical mobility will assessed using the CROM (Cervical Range of Motion) deluxe device, developed by the University of Minnesota. The CROM is an inclinometer system that utilizes gravity and magnetic effects [26]. It is validated for accuracy and reliability. The device consists of two fixed inclinometers for the sagittal and frontal planes, a horizontal inclinometer with a magnetic needle mounted on the top of the device, a magnetic neck brace, a scale-equipped arm with a ruler mounted on the top, and a vertebra locator arm with a weighing system.
Day 1
Assessment of upper cervical mobility
Time Frame: Day 1
The CROM device is securely attached to the participant's head while they lay supine on a treatment table. The evaluator asks the participant to relax while the neck is brought to its maximum cervical flexion. In the full flexion position, the head and neck are passively rotated as far as possible within the limits of comfortable pain or physiological stiffness. The procedure is repeated twice on each side with a 30-second rest between tests. The sensitivity of the flexion-rotation test was found to be 91%, its specificity 90%, and its overall diagnostic accuracy 91% . The cervical flexion-rotation test is an important tool in identifying movement impairment at the C1/2 segment and can be used accurately and reliably even by inexperienced examiners.
Day 1

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Nagihan Acet

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

September 18, 2024

Primary Completion (Actual)

November 18, 2024

Study Completion (Actual)

December 18, 2024

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

September 12, 2024

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 16, 2024

First Posted (Actual)

September 19, 2024

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

November 25, 2025

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

November 20, 2025

Last Verified

November 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • Atılım Üniversitesi

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

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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