Role of texting on mobile phones for musculoskeletal disorders in the neck and upper extremities among Saudi population

Abstract EN

Introduction: All over the world, people today use texting apps like WhatsApp, Telegram.

from the time they get up until the time they go to sleep According to a survey conducted by the General Authority of Statistics of Saudi Arabia in 2018, 73.28% of the total Saudi population use mobiles or smart phone, whereas 91% of Saudis whose ages range between (12 and 65 years) use it.

In the USA, a study on university students found that text messaging emerged as the most frequently used means of communication.

This paper investigates whether texting on mobile phones is responsible for musculoskeletal disorders in the neck and upper extremities among Saudi Arabian population.

The results show mostly short-term effects, and to a lesser extent, long-term effects of texting on musculoskeletal disorders in neck and upper extremities.

Methods: In this cross - sectional study data was collected by the purposely constructed questionnaire.

Questionnaire composed of the demographic items and items related to the usage of mobile and pain Questionnaire was constructed after the series of discussions between the panel of experts this panel composed of from subject specialist, researcher, language expert.

Cronbach alpha of the questionnaire was calculated.

Results: The mean (SD) of age was 35.8 (12.5) , 25.5% were health workers while 74.5% non-health professionals 69.2% have college level education, 20.7% have high school level, 6.3, 2.7 and 1.1% have post graduate, intermediate and primary level respectively.

83.1% were living in city while 16.9% were living in village.

55.8% were married while 40.0 were single, 68.2% were females while rest were males.

43.8% having monthly income less than 3000 SAR, Gender produces significant impact on pain.

Conclusion: Excess usage of mobile and texting creates the pain, so health professionals should guide the public regarding this issue, while institutes also organised workshops and awareness activities to reduce this problem.