Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Neck pain associated with smartphone overuse: cross-sectional report of a cohort study among office workers

  • Original Article
  • Published:
European Spine Journal Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

The aim of the current study was to investigate the extent of smartphone use, possible correlation with neck pain and/or psychological impairment in office workers.

Method

A convenience sample of 1,602 office workers who were using smartphone for prolonged periods (≥ 4 years) participated in a cross-sectional report of a cohort study, assessing demographic, abnormal symptoms of pain in the neck, physical activity, and psychological behavior characteristics. Participants were assessed using a short version of the Smartphone Addiction Scale (SAS-SV), Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scales (DASS-42) questionnaire, as well as International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Short Form (IPAQ-SF). Multiple logistic regression model was conducted to evaluate the adjusted effect of smartphone overuse on nuchal symptoms.

Results

The prevalence of neck pain among the office workers was 30.1%. Significantly more female (33.3% vs. 24.5%) and younger (42.2 vs. 43.2 years) employees reported to have neck pain. Overall in 326 (20.3%, 95% CI: 18.4%–22.4%) of studied subjects had, SAS score ≥ 31 and ≥ 33 for male and females, respectively, and so smartphone overuse (SO) was diagnosed. The results of multiple logistic regression model revealed that those with SO were approximately 6 times more likely to have neck pain (95% CI: 4.44–8.09, P < 0.001).

Conclusions

Smartphone overuse in office workers significantly increases the chance of neck pain by 6 times. Hence SO has been associated with, not only somatic complaints, but also psychological distress such as anxiety, stress, and depression. This may necessitate adherence to neck-school, when smartphone use is associated with neck pain.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Regiani Bueno G, Garcia LF, Marques Gomes Bertolini SM, Rodrigues Lucena TF (2019) The head down generation: musculoskeletal symptoms and the use of smartphones among young university students. Telemed e-Health 25:1049–1056

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Shan Z, Deng G, Li J, Li Y, Zhang Y, Zhao Q (2013) Correlational analysis of neck/shoulder pain and low back pain with the use of digital products, physical activity and psychological status among adolescents in Shanghai. PLoS ONE 8:e78109

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Namwongsa S, Puntumetakul R, Neubert MS, Boucaut R (2018) Factors associated with neck disorders among university student smartphone users. Work 61:367–378

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Kang J-H, Park R-Y, Lee S-J, Kim J-Y, Yoon S-R, Jung K-I (2012) The effect of the forward head posture on postural balance in long time computer based worker. Ann Rehabilit Med 36:98

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Berolo S, Wells RP, Amick BC III (2011) Musculoskeletal symptoms among mobile hand-held device users and their relationship to device use: a preliminary study in a Canadian university population. Appl Ergon 42:371–378

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Szeto GP, Straker L, Raine S (2002) A field comparison of neck and shoulder postures in symptomatic and asymptomatic office workers. Appl Ergon 33:75–84

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Lau KT, Cheung KY, Chan MH, Lo KY, Chiu TTW (2010) Relationships between sagittal postures of thoracic and cervical spine, presence of neck pain, neck pain severity and disability. Man ther 15:457–462

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Burgess-Limerick R, Plooy A, Ankrum D (1998) The effect of imposed and self-selected computer monitor height on posture and gaze angle. Clin Biomech 13:584–592

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Brink Y, Louw Q, Grimmer K, Jordaan E (2014) The spinal posture of computing adolescents in a real-life setting. BMC musculoskelet disord 15:212

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Kwon M, Kim D-J, Cho H, Yang S (2013) The smartphone addiction scale: development and validation of a short version for adolescents. PLoS ONE 8:e83558

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Kheradmand A, Amirlatifi ES, Sohrabi M-R, Meybodi AM (2019) Validation of the Persian smartphone addiction scale among Tehran university students Iran. International J High Risk Behav Addict 8(1):e81176

    Google Scholar 

  12. Lee PH, Macfarlane DJ, Lam T, Stewart SM (2011) Validity of the international physical activity questionnaire short form (IPAQ-SF): a systematic review. International J Behav Nutr Phys Act 8:115

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Craig CL, Marshall AL, Sjöström M, Bauman AE, Booth ML, Ainsworth BE, Pratt M, Ekelund U, Yngve A, Sallis JF (2003) International physical activity questionnaire: 12-countrys reliability and validity. Med Sci Sports Exerc 35:1381–1395

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Ainsworth BE, Haskell WL, Whitt MC, Irwin ML, Swartz AM, Strath SJ, Brien OWL, Bassett DR, Schmitz KH, Emplaincourt PO (2000) Compendium of physical activities: an update of activity codes and MET intensities. Med Sci Sports Exerc 32:S498–S504

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Vasheghani-Farahani A, Tahmasbi M, Asheri H, Ashraf H, Nedjat S, Kordi R (2011) The persian, last 7-days, long form of the international physical activity questionnaire: translation and validation study. Asian J Sports Med 2:106

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Crawford JR, Henry JD (2003) The depression anxiety stress scales (DASS): normative data and latent structure in a large non-clinical sample. Br J Clin Psychol 42:111–131

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Lovibond SH, Lovibond PF (1996) Manual for the depression anxiety stress scales. Psychology Foundation of Australia, Sydney

    Google Scholar 

  18. Afzali A, Delavar A, Borjali A, Mirzamani M (2007) Psychometric properties of DASS-42 as assessed in a sample of Kermanshah High School students. J Res Behav Sci 5:81–92

    Google Scholar 

  19. Hosmer DW Jr, Lemeshow S, Sturdivant RX (2013) Applied logistic regression. Wiley, Hoboken

    Book  Google Scholar 

  20. Hansraj KK (2014) Assessment of stresses in the cervical spine caused by posture and position of the head. Surg Technol Int 25:277–279

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  21. Park J, Kim J, Kim J, Kim K, Kim N, Choi I, Lee S, Yim J (2015) The effects of heavy smartphone use on the cervical angle, pain threshold of neck muscles and depression. Adv Sci Technol Lett 91:12–17

    Google Scholar 

  22. Ko P-H, Hwang Y-H, Liang H-W (2016) Influence of smartphone use styles on typing performance and biomechanical exposure. Ergonomics 59:821–828

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Lee H, Choi YS, Lee S, Shim E (2013) Smart pose mobile posture-aware system for lowering physical health risk of smartphone users In: CHI'13 Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems 2257–2266

  24. Celik S, Celik K, Dirimese E, Tasdemir N, Arik T, Büyükkara I (2018) Determination of pain in musculoskeletal system reported by office workers and the pain risk factors. Int J Occup Med Environ Health 31:91–111

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  25. Alsalameh AM, Harisi MJ, Alduayji MA, Almutham AA, Mahmood FM (2019) Evaluating the relationship between smartphone addiction/overuse and musculoskeletal pain among medical students at Qassim university. J Fam Med Prim care 8:2953

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Diepenmaat A, Van der Wal M, De Vet H, Hirasing R (2006) Neck/shoulder, low back, and arm pain in relation to computer use, physical activity, stress, and depression among dutch adolescents. Pediatrics 117:412–416

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  27. Chen X, O’Leary S, Johnston V (2018) Modifiable individual and work-related factors associated with neck pain in 740 office workers: a cross-sectional study. Braz J Phys Ther 22:318–327

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Ye S, Jing Q, Wei C, Lu J (2017) Risk factors of non-specific neck pain and low back pain in computer-using office workers in China: a cross-sectional study. BMJ open 7:e014914

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Torgén M, Swerup C (2002) Individual factors and physical work load in relation to sensory thresholds in a middle-aged general population sample. Eur J Appl Physiol 86:418–427

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. Miranda H, Viikari-Juntura E, Martikainen R, Takala E, Riihimäki H (2001) A prospective study of work related factors and physical exercise as predictors of shoulder pain. Occup Environ Med 58:528–534

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  31. Smetaniuk P (2014) A preliminary investigation into the prevalence and prediction of problematic cell phone use. J Behav Addict 3:41–53

    Article  Google Scholar 

  32. Haug S, Castro RP, Kwon M, Filler A, Kowatsch T, Schaub MP (2015) Smartphone use and smartphone addiction among young people in Switzerland. J Behav Addict 4:299–307

    Article  Google Scholar 

  33. Gao T, Xiang Y-T, Zhang H, Zhang Z, Mei S (2017) Neuroticism and quality of life: multiple mediating effects of smartphone addiction and depression. Psychiatry Res 258:457–461

    Article  Google Scholar 

  34. Jenaro C, Flores N, Gómez-Vela M, González-Gil F, Caballo C (2007) Problematic internet and cell-phone use: psychological, behavioral, and health correlates. Addict Res Theory 15:309–320

    Article  Google Scholar 

  35. Blozik E, Laptinskaya D, Herrmann-Lingen C, Schaefer H, Kochen MM, Himmel W, Scherer M (2009) Depression and anxiety as major determinants of neck pain: a cross-sectional study in general practice. BMC musculoskelet disord 10:13

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This study has been supported by support of Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS) Office workers’ Cohort TEC study; (Grant no: 36600)

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurosurgery, Imam Khomeini Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Keshavarz Boulevard, 1449614535, Tehran, Iran

    Nazi Derakhshanrad & Hooshang Saberi

  2. Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Mir Saeed Yekaninejad

  3. Center for Research On Occupational Diseases, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Ramin Mehrdad

Authors
  1. Nazi Derakhshanrad
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Mir Saeed Yekaninejad
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Ramin Mehrdad
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Hooshang Saberi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

HS was involved in study concept and design; MSY and ND were involved in analysis and interpretation of data; HS and ND were involved in drafting of the manuscript; HS, MSY, and RM were involved in critical revision of the manuscript for important intellectual content; MSY was involved in statistical analysis; RM was involved in administrative, technical, and material support; HS was involved in study supervision

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Hooshang Saberi.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors report no conflict of interest concerning the materials or methods used in this study or the findings specified in this paper.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Derakhshanrad, N., Yekaninejad, M.S., Mehrdad, R. et al. Neck pain associated with smartphone overuse: cross-sectional report of a cohort study among office workers. Eur Spine J 30, 461–467 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00586-020-06640-z

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00586-020-06640-z

Keywords

Search

Navigation