The Effect of Posture and Duration of Smartphone Usage on Neck Flexion Angle

Abstract

The main objective of this study was to measure and examine changes in the neck flexion angle while using a Smartphone according to posture and duration of usage. Photographic analysis procedures were carried out to measure the neck flexion angle. The participants in this study were twenty young adults (half males); they stood against a scaled board and used the same Smartphone for web-browsing for twenty minutes. Photos were taken at zero, five, ten, fifteen and twenty minutes. This procedure was repeated for each participant at three postures (standing, sitting without arms rest, sitting with arms rested on a table). The results revealed statistically significant effects of both posture and duration of usage; neck flexion angle increased significantly over time in all postures and was significantly smaller in the standing posture than in the sitting postures. A significant effect of gender was also identified; males displayed larger neck flexion angles than females.