Effect of prolonged continuous smartphone gaming on upper body postures and fatigue of the neck muscles in school students aged between 10-18 years

Figures & data

Table 1. General characteristics of participants (N = 44)

Characteristics	Gender		Total (N = 44)
	Male (n = 23)	Female (n = 21)
Age (yrs)	14.04 ± 2.38	14.24 ± 2.55	14.14 ± 2.44
Weight (kg)	51.41 ± 8.99	47.55 ± 6.48	49.57 ± 8.04
Height (cm)	157.87 ± 11.36	152.74 ± 9.24	155.42 ± 10.61
Body mass index (kg/m^2)	20.46 ± 1.13	20.27 ± 1.23	20.37 ± 1.17
Daily smartphone usage (hrs)	4.30 ± 0.47	4.38 ± 0.67	4.34 ± 0.57

Table 2. Neck discomfort in participants (NRS-11) before and after a 20-minute smartphone usage

Characteristics	Point of time
	Pretest scores	Posttest scores
Male (n = 23)	0.00	4.61 ± 1.12**
Female (n = 21)	0.00	4.81 ± 1.36**
Total (N = 44)	0.00	4.70 ± 1.23**

Figure 1a,b. Comparison of mean neck and trunk flexion angles across time during smartphone usage (* p < 0.05, * * p < 0.01, and * * * p < 0.001). Error bars represent standard error

Figure 2a,b. Comparison of mean shoulder flexion angles across time during smartphone usage (* p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01, and *** p < 0.001). Error bars represent standard error

Figure 3a,b. Comparison of mean elbow flexion angles across time during smartphone usage (* p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01, and *** p < 0.001). Error bars represent standard error

Figure 4a,b. Comparison of mean of relative changes in MDF of the left and right CES muscles during smartphone usage. * significant difference at p-value < 0.05 from baseline

Figure 5a,b. Comparison of mean of relative changes in MDF of the left and right UT muscles during smartphone usage