The Effect of Electromagnetic Field of Mobile Phone on Hand Grip and Shoulder Strengths

Bulent Aksoy,Umut Yasa,Mustafa Tozun

doi:10.21601/ejeph/11501

Abstract

Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between holding a mobile phone in the non-dominant hand and the hand grip, the shoulder abduction and flexion strengths on the dominant hand side. Materials and Methods: This is an observational study. The study was conducted between November 15, 2019 - November 29, 2019 in 61 adults aged 18-30 years in Izmir, Turkey. Three repeated measurements of hand grip strength, shoulder abduction and shoulder flexion strength in dominant hand / on the shoulder of the dominant hand were compared. Measurements were as follows: In the non-dominant hand when there is no mobile phone (Measurement 1); In the non-dominant hand when there is a switched off mobile phone in (Measurement 2); In the non-dominant hand when there is a mobile phone on in standby mode (Measurement 3). In statistical analysis, student t test and one way or two-way analysis of variance were used for repeated measurements. A p value of ≤0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: There was no significant difference between the first, second and third measurement results in terms of mean grip strength (for each one p>0.05). However, the mean values of shoulder abduction strength and shoulder flexion strength were lower in the third measurements compared to the first measurements (for each one p ≤0.05). Conclusion: There is evidence that the contact with the mobile phone in the nondominant hand will cause an acute decrease in muscle strength, especially in the shoulder girdle. Further studies in large populations on the subject of this study are recommended.

Highlights

Electromagnetic Fields; frequency range from 0 Hz to 300 GHz, covers radio frequency fields with extremely low frequency
The mean values of shoulder abduction strength and shoulder flexion strength were lower in the third measurements compared to the first measurements
There is evidence that the contact with the mobile phone in the nondominant hand will cause an acute decrease in muscle strength, especially in the shoulder girdle

Summary

Introduction

Electromagnetic Fields; frequency range from 0 Hz to 300 GHz, covers radio frequency fields with extremely low frequency. The operating frequencies of mobile phones are mostly in the range of 900-1800 MHz, which corresponds to radiofrequency energy. Mobile phones need to be constantly connected to a particular network in order to be able to track incoming calls, text messages, service messages, social media and receive emails. For this reason, the communication processor operates actively and continues to transmit, even at a low level, in standby mode. The electromagnetic field emitted by a mobile phone during active use, and in standby mode affects the tissues in the area where it is transported (Abhiman et al, 2016). Various studies have reported that upper extremity and neck musculoskeletal system problems occur depending on the use of mobile phones and length of use (Gustafsson et al, 2017; Kalirathinam et al, 2017; Xie et al, 2017; Yang et al, 2017)

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