smartphones have replaced most of the keypad phone products due to their small size and easy of portability. As a result, smartphone users experience an increase in musculoskeletal problems in the neck and shoulder. Therefore, the importance of exercise and proper training should be emphasized for people who are likely to develop postural deformities due to incorrect posture habits and daily living patterns
Prolonged VDTs operation is a leading cause of musculoskeletal disorders and cumulative trauma disorders such as stiff shoulders, neck soreness, carpal tunnel syndrome, and low back pain among office employees. The problems are intensified by wrong work postures, such as flexed neck, wrists, or excessively flexed forearms.Smartphone is a mobile hand-held VDT device with advanced computing capability, such as internet communication, information retrieval, video display and other capabilities. Being portable, smartphones have had a large impact on modern everyday life on terms of inducing continuous mechanical stress on shoulder and neck tendons and muscles caused by it's prolonged use. Attaining ideal posture puts least stress on spinal structures. A good posture of head and shoulder is attaining by keeping ears aligned with the shoulders and shoulder joints retracted. Person attaining ideal posture put least stress on spinal structures. The commonest posture adapted by smartphone users is bending their neck and staring at the mobile screen, which subsequently causes postural alteration and leads to neck pain. It is found that there is extremely significant correlation between prolonged use of smartphone and forward head posture. Posture correction exercises correct postural alterations like forward head posture and rounded shoulder posture. It is found that deep neck flexors, isometric extension, prone chin tucks and chest stretches are effective in correcting forward head posture by improving craniovertebral angle. Scapular stabilization exercises are found to be effective in increasing shoulder range of abduction and external rotation and in decreasing forward head and shoulder postures.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
SINGLE
Enrollment
40
Postural correction exercises are effective in improving forward head posture and it effectively decrease neck pain and increase ROM Exercise training and ergonomic guidelines concerning the use of touchscreen smartphones will reduce the risk of developing upper extremity musculoskeletal disorders
Cairo University
Giza, Egypt
Shoulder muscles peak torque
Newton.meter
Time frame: 4 weeks
Shoulder muscles work
Joules
Time frame: 4 weeks
Shoulder muscles work fatigue
Joules
Time frame: 4 weeks
Shoulder muscles pain threshold
Newton
Time frame: 4 weeks
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