Perception of musculoskeletal pain related to excessive use of smartphone and notebook by undergraduate students

Abstract

Technological advance aims to make life easier for the human being, saving time and making access to information and communication easier. However, excessive use of these, for more than 2 to 4 hours daily, associated with inappropriate positions in the period of use, slowly accumulate damages to the body, resulting in the appearance of pain in the musculoskeletal system. The objective is analyze the perception of pain and discomfort in the musculoskeletal system against the excessive use of smartphone and notebook in undergraduate students. Quantitative cross descriptive, being selected for this study, 37 students of the Physical Therapy Course, average of 21 years. In order to perform the data collection, there were made the MCGill questionnaire on the visual analog scale (VAS), Questionnaire of Technology Users, and the questionnaire of Dickinson. The prevalence of smartphone use time was from 5 to 6 hours, compared to the notebook which was from 2 to 4 hours daily, remaining most of the day connected to these technologies, and resulting in pain in various parts of the body, especially in the cervical spine, shoulders and lumbar spine. The study showed a high prevalence (76%) of musculoskeletal pain in the interviewees, so it is necessary to increase awareness of the use of these technologies in order to prevent complaints related to the indiscriminate use.