Volume 25, Issue 115, September 2021

The association between smartphone usage and musculoskeletal pain among medical residents in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia during covid-19 pandemic

Omar Jamal Abdulkareem Alwatban^1♦, Sulaiman Abdullah Alshammari², Bandar Khalid Alrabiah¹, Khalid F Alsadhan¹, Mohammed W Alwhibi¹

¹Family Medicine Resident, Department of Family and Community Medicine, King Saud University, College of Medicine, King Saud University Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
²Professor and Consultant, Department of Family and Community Medicine, King Saud University College of Medicine, King Saud University Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

^♦Corresponding author
Family Medicine Resident, Department of Family and Community Medicine, King Saud University, College of Medicine, King Saud University Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

ABSTRACT

Background: The association between smartphone addiction and the increased prevalence of musculoskeletal pain is still a controversial issue. The present study aimed at investigating the association between smartphone addiction and musculoskeletal pain among medical residents in Riyadh city, Saudi Arabia during COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: This study was cross-sectional that included a 3-part questionnaire over a sample of 195 medical residents. The questionnaire consisted of participants' demographic data, Smartphone Addiction Scale – Short Version (SAS-SV), and “the Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire (NMQ)”. Results: The prevalence of musculoskeletal pain among the study participants was as following: neck (69.7%), shoulder (75.9%), Elbow (26.2%), wrists/hands (82.1%), upper back (72.3%), and lower back (91.8%). There were significant statistical differences in smartphone addiction scores in favor of the medical residents who had shoulder pain (p=0.000), wrists/hands pain (p=0.000), and neck pain (p=0.000). The SAS-SV score were significantly correlated to the participants' duration of exercises (r=-0.305, p=0.037), neck pain (r=0.419, p=0.000), shoulder pain (r=0.261, p=0.029), wrists/hands pain (r=0.618, p=0.000), upper back pain (r=0.207, p=0.016), and lower back pain (r=0.138, p=0.000). Finally, it was found that the smartphone addiction score significantly predicting the neck pain (OR=2.36, CI: 0.58-2.44, p=0.000), upper back pain (OR=2.68, CI=0.50-3.11, p=0.000), lower back pain (OR=2.30, CI=0.84-3.51, p=0.000), shoulder pain (OR=2.69, CI: 0.41-3.01, p=0.002), Elbow pain (OR=2.15, CI: 0.80-2.94, p=0.027), and wrists/hands pain (OR=2.97, CI: 1.51-4.18, p=0.001). Conclusion: The study concluded that smartphone addiction is significantly associated with a higher prevalence of musculoskeletal pain in the neck, shoulders, elbow, wrists/hands, lower back, and upper back.

Keywords: Smartphone addiction, musculoskeletal pain, Medical residents, Riyadh

Medical Science, 2021, 25(115), 2383-2391

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