Frequency of wrist pain and its associated risk factors in students using mobile phones: Wrist pain in students using mobile phones

Objective: To assess the frequency of wrist pain in students due to mobile phone usage, and impact of usage hours and screen size of mobile phones on pain and disability at wrist joint.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among students studying in different universities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi belonging to both public and private sectors. The study was conducted between May 2018 and March 2019. Sample size was 360 students which were selected through convenience sampling. Data was collected through self-formulated closed ended questionnaire. Patient Rated Wrist Evaluation questionnaire was used to assess pain and disability at wrist joint. Data entry and analysis were done using SPSS 21. Results were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Spearman’s and point-biserial correlation coefficients were applied to determine association between different variables.

Results: Point, last month, last 3 months, last 6 months, last year and lifetime frequency were found to be 9%, 18.6%, 29%, 33.3%, 42% and 45.3% respectively. Duration of mobile phone usage was found to be of significant association factor that could lead to wrist pain and disability (p=0.004). Wrist pain was not significantly related to mobile phone screen size (p = 0.488).

Conclusion: It appears that wrist pain is common among mobile phone users and an increase in use of mobile phones increased pain and disability of wrist joint. In addition, it seems that screen size of mobile phone has no significant effect on pain and disability of wrist joint.