Associação entre o uso excessivo de smartphones e as lesões de punho e dedos em estudantes de ensino superior da área de saúde

Abstract

Currently the technological advancement of mobile devices has had various types of technologies and services. This technology also provides a range of applications and games which generate musculoskeletal overload mainly in the predominant user's hand. Often it is affected by a list of conditions such as carpal tunnel syndrome, De Quervain tenosynovitis and Dupuytren's contracture. This study aimed to investigate the association of excessive use of smartphone devices and the appearance of discomfort / pain in users' hands. This is a cross-sectional study in a private higher education institution. The participants were 307 college students, the data collection was carried out in 3 stages, which were the socioeconomic questionnaire, Adapted Boston Protocol and pain gradation was made using Analog Pain Scale (VAS). After the analysis of the exclusion criteria, only 260 students remained in the study, with a mean age of 23.1. The females were predominant in the study with 74.3% of the sample, 71.2% reported pain / discomfort while using their smartphone. Mostly special clinical tests showed up negative and, among those who were positive, Finkeltein test was the one that had the highest percentage with 25.4%. According to the Boston protocol the averages in questions relating to pain were higher when compared to the severity of other symptoms. Concerning the VAS, 75% graduated pain as moderate, 18% rated the pain as light and 7% graduated pain as intense. Prolonged use of Smartphone can cause musculoskeletal disorders. However, studies on the subject are still scarce in the literature.