Name of the principal investigator/ student: Richerts Wilson Gopi

Designation : 1st Year BPT, 

Department: Faculty of Physiotherapy, Sree Balaji Medical College and Hospital, BIHER, Chromepet,

Mobile Number: 8124979807 Mail ID- richertsg27@gmail.com 

Introduction: 

Neck discomfort is an escalating concern in society, impacting individuals across all age groups, particularly young adults, due to prolonged computer and phone usage, sedentary work, poor posture, stress, and reduced physical activity. (Cohens 2015) A study involving university students indicated that 58.3% of participants suffered neck pain during a one-year timeframe. (Ariens et al 2001) Neck pain can restrict everyday activities, diminish work productivity, and adversely affect overall quality of life. A substantial corpus of literature addresses the correlation between neck pain and neck muscle endurance. (Edmondston 2011) Although various scholarly perspectives exist concerning the relationship between neck muscle endurance and neck discomfort, there is a broad consensus among researchers regarding the importance of this factor as a contributing cause.

Background:

In terms of day-to-day life, the mobile phone is absolutely necessary, particularly during the epidemic. Long-term use can lead to postural difficulties, which can result in the typical occurrence of neck pain. Among college students, the purpose of this study is to investigate whether or not there is a connection between the length of time spent using mobile phones, addiction, neck muscle endurance, and neck pain.

Aim: The aim of the study is to analyse the impact of duration of smartphone usage among the university students and their cervical endurance using smart phone addiction scale. 

Research question

Do duration of mobile usage influence the neck muscle strength 

Research gap:

Studies examining the relationship between the length of time spent on mobile phones and neck muscular strength in young adult populations are still lacking, despite mounting concerns about the musculoskeletal implications of extended smartphone use.

Methods:

The research will be executed as a cross-sectional study at BIHER University Medical College campus, Chennai.

Sampling: 

We employed a simple random sampling procedure in our investigation to guarantee that the sample was representative of the student population at the BIHER University. 

Study population and sampling method

This observational study includes 266 eligible candidates aged above 18 years and personal willingness, students taking theoretical courses, apparently healthy individuals, and students without chronic illness or infectious diseases (such as diabetes mellitus (DM), coronary heart disease, hypertension (HTN), multiple sclerosis (MS) or other nervous system disorders, IBS, IBD, rheumatoid arthritis (RA), PTE were included. STROBE guidelines were used for this case-control study.

Outcome Measures:  

Smartphone Addiction Scale (SAS): The short-version scale developed from this study is expected to evaluate smartphone addiction in a simple and easy way, which will be less expensive and time consuming

Cervical Extensor Muscle Endurance (CEME) tests, such as the Cervical Extensor Endurance Test (CEET), measure the ability of the neck extensor muscles to sustain a position, which is an indicator of neck function and a key factor in preventing neck pain and headaches

Smartphone Usage Scale, which refers to the total amount of time an individual spends actively using their mobile phone each day. 

Data analysis methods: Data will be cleaned and coded using IBM-SPSS-Version 26. Data analysis for this observational study are descriptive statistics to explain the proportion of the population with a condition and inferential statistics to estimate the true prevalence in the population with a margin of error. Regression models are to be used to study if the data reflects on potential risk factors.

Procedure:

A study of 375 adults aged above 18 years were taken. University students received a preliminary study briefing. Volunteers with or without other neck and shoulder issues were included in the study. Mobile phone use multiple times a day was the inclusion condition. Exclusion criteria included any musculoskeletal, neurological, or cardiorespiratory disease requiring hospitalization in the past year, a history of surgery, or upper extremity range of motion limitation. Data on daily mobile phone usage and demographics were gathered. The Smartphone Addiction Scale (SAS) was used to measure smartphone addiction, and cervical muscle endurance was measured. The association between cervical extensor muscle endurance (CEME) and Smartphone Usage Scale (SUS) will be investigated using correlation analysis. 

Anticipated study duration: 4-6 weeks after receiving the Institutional Ethical clearance

Operational definitions: 

Neck posture - Neck posture refers to the alignment of your head and neck relative to your spine.

Cervical endurance - Cervical endurance is the capacity of the neck muscles to sustain a specific position or perform a task repeatedly over an extended period. It

Expected outcome: You may receive a benefit of improvement of symptoms by participating in the study. However, this may not happen always and depends on several factors which is difficult to predict.

Ethical issues in the study: Exercises are about to cause some amount of stress to the muscles which may cause some pain in the initial stages of treatment. The changes that occur during the study are monitored. However, tests and analysis done during the study are harmless and 

Roles and responsibilities of the investigators: Conceptualization and design – KS, Methodology – KS,RG & RE, were involved in constructing the methodology , Validation – KS, RD and RK were involved in the validation of the study , Formal analysis -BJ Analysed the results and did statistical analyses Investigation –HS were involved in taking the outcome measures Writing - Original Draft – Done by KS and RW Writing - Review & Editing- Done by HS and BJ, Supervision- BJ and HS All authors read the article completely and approved the submitted version. They all contributed equally. 

Budget and details about funding: Self-Funding 

Conclusion: 

Students who use their phones for more than four hours a day had lower flexor muscle endurance, according to comparative studies. It is recommended that ergonomic treatments be put in place for people who use phones for extended periods of time, and that the amount of time spent on phones each day be included in the evaluation of neck pain.

References: 

Cohen, S. P., editor. Epidemiology, diagnosis, and treatment of neck pain. In Mayo Clinic Proceedings (Elsevier, 2015).Return to ref 1 in article

Ariëns, G. A., van Mechelen, W., Bongers, P. M., Bouter, L. M. & van der Wal, G. Psychosocial risk factors for neck pain: A systematic review. Am. J. Ind. Med. 39(2), 180–193 (2001).

Edmondston, S. et al. Endurance and fatigue characteristics of the neck flexor and extensor muscles during isometric tests in patients with postural neck pain. Man Ther. 16(4), 332–338 (2011).Return to ref 5 in article 

Gong, W., Kim, C. & Lee, Y. Correlations between cervical lordosis, forward head posture, cervical ROM and the strength and endurance of the deep neck flexor muscles in college students. J. Phys. Ther. Sci. 24(3), 275–277 (2012).