The Impact of Using Mobile Phones on Gait Characteristics: A Narrative Review

Abstract

The aim of this study was to summarize the research status and reveal the impact of mobile phone use on gait characteristics by reviewing the existing studies in terms of research status, participants, independent variables, dependent variables, main findings, etc. Twenty-nine studies which investigated the impact of using mobile phones on gait characteristics were identified through a literature search. The majority of these studies examined the effects of mobile phone use on gait characteristics in young people. The preliminary results showed that walking while using a mobile phone has significant impacts on gait. It can decrease gait velocity, cadence, step length and stride length, along with significantly increasing step width, step time and double support time. The results varied among different mobile phone usage, which resulted from the different motor and mental demands. Additionally, age and environment could affect the results as well. As well as the kinematic characteristics, we suggest that kinetic and EMG analysis are conducted in future studies.