Analysis of the relationship between smartphone users and neck disability treatment programs: A quasi-experimental study

Abstract

Background and objective: The continuous of using a smartphone for a long time can cause various musculoskeletal problems. It abets incorrect postures such as a hunched or neck bending postures which strains the neck. In Malaysia, the Malaysia Communications and Multimedia reported that smartphone users were dominated by young adults, from the age group of 20 – 24 with 18.8%. Meanwhile, grouped into broad generational age bands, it can be seen that adults account for 73.1% of all users followed by pre-teens and teens by 12.5% and seniors with 14.4%. Therefore, college student at age of 20 – 24 years old have been found to have the risk of neck pain resulting from the addiction of using smartphone. The objective of this study was to analyze the effectiveness of basic neck disability treatment programs (stretching and postural modification against stretching alone) in smartphone users among students of Asia Metropolitan University (AMU) in Malaysia. Materials and Methods: The study design was a quasi – experimental study. Minimum of 30 participants were selected for those who met the inclusion criteria. Participants were allocated to Group 1 (Stretching and Postural Modification) and Group 2 (Stretching), 15 participants for each group. Pain intensity and cervical range of motion were evaluated before interventions and after 4 weeks of interventions. Result: The results in this study indicated that both stretching and postural modification versus stretching alone were equally effective in reducing neck pain and improving cervical range of motion of smartphone users, however there was no significant difference found between the groups. Thus, null hypothesis was accepted and rejecting the alternate hypothesis. Conclusion: After 4 weeks of intervention, participants in Group 1 were significantly improved than participants in Group 2.