article · Health sport rehabilitation
Prolonged daily smartphone use among adolescents is linked to measurable physical changes in neck alignment, muscle stamina, and jaw joint perception. An assessment of 160 individuals aged 17 to 19 who had used smartphones for over four hours daily for at least four years demonstrated clear relationships between screen time and musculoskeletal metrics. Greater usage hours correlated strongly with a reduced craniovertebral angle, indicating an altered forward head posture, as well as a marked drop in deep neck flexor muscle endurance. Furthermore, extended usage times aligned with higher error rates in temporomandibular joint proprioception, spanning mouth opening, protrusion, and lateral deviation tests. Although the cross-sectional nature of the data precludes determining direct causation, the findings establish clear statistical links between heavy mobile screen exposure and combined cervical and orofacial physical impairments in young users.
Adolescents spend significant amounts of time on mobile devices, raising concerns regarding long-term musculoskeletal health. By demonstrating that prolonged daily use associates with forward neck posture, diminished muscle endurance, and compromised jaw joint proprioception, these findings highlight potential physical vulnerabilities in young demographics. Recognising these interconnected neck and jaw changes can help clinicians, ergonomists, and educators design targeted posture awareness programmes and preventive physical interventions for frequent screen users.
The abstract does not indicate an explicit application pathway or commercial development programme. However, the documented metrics could inform clinical assessment protocols, ergonomic monitoring tools, or biofeedback devices aimed at tracking adolescent neck posture and jaw function. Because the findings derive from an observational cross-sectional study identifying correlations rather than causal interventions, any related product development, diagnostic software, or preventive health device remains at an early concept stage requiring further validation.
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Background and purpose Smartphones are widely used by adolescents, and prolonged use may be associated with altered cervical posture, reduced neck muscle endurance, and temporomandibular dysfunction. This study aimed to examine the association between daily smartphone use duration and craniovertebral angle, cervical muscle endurance, and temporomandibular joint proprioception in adolescents with high smartphone use. Material and methods This cross-sectional study included 160 adolescents aged 17–19 years who used smartphones for more than 4 hours per day for at least 4 years. The craniovertebral angle was measured using Kinovea, deep neck flexor endurance was assessed with a pressure biofeedback unit, and temporomandibular joint proprioception was evaluated using a vernier caliper. All statistical analyses were performed using SPSS software version 26. Given that all study variables violated the assumption of normality, Spearman's rho correlation coefficient (ρ) was used to examine the associations between daily smartphone use and the measured postural and orofacial outcomes, including the craniovertebral angle (CVA), muscular endurance, and orofacial error variables. Results The results revealed a strong negative correlation between daily smartphone use duration and craniovertebral angle (ρ = -0.774, p < 0.001). In addition, daily smartphone use was strongly negatively correlated with deep neck flexor muscle endurance (ρ = -0.837, p < 0.001), and positively correlated with temporomandibular joint proprioception errors across all measured directions. The mean TMJ error showed a strong positive correlation (ρ = 0.641, p < 0.001). Mouth opening error showed a moderate positive correlation (ρ = 0.527, p < 0.001), protrusion error showed a moderate positive correlation (ρ = 0.449, p < 0.001), right deviation error showed a weak to moderate positive correlation (ρ = 0.303, p < 0.001), and left deviation error showed a weak positive correlation (ρ = 0.293, p < 0.001). Conclusion Among adolescents with high smartphone use, longer daily smartphone use duration was associated with a smaller craniovertebral angle, reduced cervical muscle endurance, and impaired temporomandibular joint proprioception. Because of the cross-sectional design, these findings should be interpreted as associations rather than causal effects.
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DOI: 10.58962/hsr.1371
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