Musculoskeletal Pain and Risk Factors Associated with Smartphone Use in University Students

BACKGROUND: Smartphone has become a very popular necessity among students. An individual has to look at their phone's small monitor and perform repetitive movements in an awkward posture for a prolonged duration. OBJECTIVES: To assess the prevalence of musculoskeletal pain and associated risk factors in university students because of smartphone usage. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 2000 university students using a semi-structured questionnaire comprising demographic profile, smartphone usage characteristics, presence of musculoskeletal pain, and specific area of pain according to the body region. Logistic regression analysis revealed that the strongest predictor of musculoskeletal pain was the size of the smartphone. CONCLUSION: The study reported that the prevalence of pain in smartphone users is high with common sites being neck, thumb, and lower back region. Also, the size of the smartphone had a significant association with musculoskeletal pain.