Correlation Between Smartphone Addiction and Back Dysfunction and Core Muscle Morphology and Performance in Asymptomatic Young Adults

• Conditions: Back Disorder; Smartphone Addiction

• Registration Number: NCT05321030
• Lead Sponsor: Cairo University

Brief Summary

The purpose of this study is to investigate the association between smartphone addiction and back pain, function, and lumbar stabilizer cross-sectional area and thickness compared with non-addicted teenagers.

Detailed Description

Smartphone prolonged use has been suggested as a risk factor for psychological, visual, and musculoskeletal dysfunctions. The musculoskeletal dysfunction may be related to direct contact use with smartphones as in thumb, elbow, and neck pain. Moreover, indirect long use of smartphones may affect thoracic, lumbar, and lower limbs.

COVID-19 pandemic occurred in a time of outstanding scientific progress and global digitalization. Therefore, smartphone usage became a must for human connection, learning, and entertainment, providing psychological and social support. In the meantime, it was observed a significant increase in overuse and addiction, especially in young and teenage females. The addiction is associated with more musculoskeletal abnormalities when compared to non-addict users. Several studies found an association between smartphone usage and back pain, concomitant with a reduction in thoracic extensors activity. This back pain may affect their quality of life and work-related productivity. However, the relationship between back dysfunction and smartphone addiction is still unclear. A few attempts were done to elucidate this relationship. Yet if proven correct, then preventive measures such as recommendations and precautions regarding smartphone use could be distributed to users by the manufacturers. Furthermore, engineering solutions are needed to optimally design smartphones to alter their weight and sizes to minimize potential adverse effects.

Study Timeline

• Study First Submitted: 2022-03-19
• Status Verified: 2022-04
• Study Start: 2022-04-01
• Study First Submitted QC: 2022-04-02
• Last Update Submitted: 2022-04-02
• Study First Posted: 2022-04-11
• Last Update Posted: 2022-04-11
• Primary Completion: 2022-06-01
• Study Completion: 2022-06-15

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: UNKNOWN
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 136

Inclusion Criteria

1. Age ranged from 18 years to 30 years.
2. BMI between 19.0-29.9 kg/m2.

Exclusion Criteria

1- Previous history of spinal trauma or dysfunction. 2 - Any systemic disease that may affect spine such as ankylosing spondylitis and rheumatoid arthritis.

3 - Cognitive or memory impairment in memory or cognitive function.

Study & Design

• Study Type: OBSERVATIONAL
• Study Design: Not specified

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Assessment of back function and disability	at baseline only	Functional disability will be assessed by the Oswestry disability questionnaire, a functional scale assessing the impact of LBP on daily activities. It is a self-administered, 10-item questionnaire: the first section rates the intensity of pain and the others describe its disabling effect on typical daily activities. The score for each item ranges from 0 to 5, the score is calculated by the addition of the values assigned for each of the 10 individual questions
Musculoskeletal assessment By Ultrasonography	at baseline only	Ultrasonography will be used for measuring CSA and MT of LMM. Muscle thickness measurement by US.
Core muscles strength	at baseline only	Core stability will be measured using prone and supine bridging as bridging maneuvers seem to be practical, reliable, and valid methods of reflecting lumbar spine stabilization endurance capability. In prone bridge each subject will be in the prone position, supporting on the elbows. The elbows will be spaced shoulder-width apart, and the feet were set with a narrow base, but not touching. The subject then asked to raise the pelvis from the floor so that only the forearms and the toes were in contact with the floor. The shoulders, hips, and ankles were maintained in a straight line.

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Outpatient clinic, Faculty of Physical Therapy, Cairo university; 🇪🇬 Dokki, Egypt