Thesis (M.Sc.) - Cairo University - Faculty of Physical Therapy - Department of Basic Science

Background: The use of hand-held devices such as smartphone has been associated with shoulder pain and scapular muscles imbalance as a result of hyperactivity and tightness, Purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of smartphone duration use on pain of the upper back and scapular muscles strength (lower trapezius, rhomboids major and rhomboids minor) in normal subjects, Methods: This study was cross sectional observational study; Eighty normal adults 20-30 years age, with right hand dominance were recruited for this study. The subjects must have at least 6 months experience in using smartphone and divided into two groups: Group A (who uses smartphone less than 4 hours daily), Group B (who uses smartphone more than 4 hours daily), subjects will be assessed once time. Upper back pain and strength were assessed; pain by VAS scale and strength with break test by pull and push dynamometer, Results: subjects in the two groups showed significant pain accentuation after smartphone usage, depends on the duration. Furthermore, changes in pain severity with smartphone use were different between the two groups (P<0.05). For scapular adductor muscles strength, the right dominant side was diminished but not reach to cause significant difference(P>0.05) and the left side have increase in strength with significant difference (P<0.05)

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