Phenomenon of text neck in higher education students

Abstract

In the modern world almost all young people use smartphones and now most of the time using mobile phones belongs to additional functions. Regrettably, consequences for the musculokeletal system are not considered. It is a known fact that long-term use of the gadgets causes excessive cervical spine bending, improper posture and the formation of muscular-tonic syndrome accompanied by the pain and discomfort that is so-called “Text neck” syndrome. The aim of the research was to study the impact of using gadgets on the formation pain syndrome in the neck and shoulders, as well as headache. The research involved 90 respondents, 60 female and 30 males, the age of the participants was in a range from 18 to 28 years old. Using a self-created questionnaire, applying in Google docs, Text neck symptoms such as headache, pain/discomfort in the neck and shoulder, as well as awareness of this phenomenon have been evaluated. The study has shown the primary role of the shoulder pain/discomfort among respondents, thus 59 (66%) of the participants suffer from shoulder pain/discomfort in different degrees with the gender distribution as follows: 46 women (76%) and 13 men (43%). Headache was noted by 56% of the participants and 50% suffer from neck pain/discomfort. The average phone usage time was 5.3 hours. Only one third (32%) of respondents associated their symptoms with the use of gadgets, so the study has demonstrated low awareness about this syndrome among students. Young people do not realize devastating impact of the gadgets on the health condition, in particular musculoskeletal system. Thus, the authors believe that an integrated approach is needed on the part of the family, educational establishments and health care with a view to build awareness in young people and prevent Text neck formation. Seems like a reasonable implementation of the course on the possible impact of excessive gadgets use on the health condition of the students at higher education institutions.