INTRODUCTION:

In the era of technology, portable devices have become more reliable and useful. Nowadays everyone is having mobile phones and majority having smart phones. People’s contemporary lifestyle has become much dominated by computer technology, often overusing digital tasks on handheld mobile technology induces ‘text neck’ seemingly a worldwide health problem. They are very popular for the obvious reason¹. Many studies have attempted to explore the relation between mobile phone use and the presence of pain in the neck and the shoulder.

There is prolonged flexion of the muscles of the shoulder, neck and upper extremities while using the mobile phones which leads to the development of ‘Text neck syndrome’. Untreated conditions may lead to permanent damage of the spinal cord, such as flattening of the spinal curvature, early onset of arthritis, spinal cord degeneration, disc compression, and herniation.^2,3.

BACKGROUND OF STUDY:

In the 21^st century, the advancement in technology has brought more and more people together daily using smart phones. Musculoskeletal pain related to TNS is nowadays more common in teenagers. Approximation is that about 75% of the world's population is hunched over their handheld devices for hours daily with their head in a forward flexed position.⁴ It is reported that adolescents spending more than 1 hour of constant smart phone use are prone to development of syndrome.⁵ It reported that the factors associated with the severity of text neck syndrome are desk height, backward seat pan inclination, forward seat pan inclination, difficulty in viewing the board, too much homework, and rapid upper limbs assessment⁶. It is also noted that there is significant disability associated with the duration of electronic gadget usage and the intensity of neck pain increases with the duration of electronic gadget usage⁷. Young adults in India are unknowingly falling prey to musculoskeletal disorder, thus this study was taken up to assess the incidence of text neck syndrome among the younger adults and to assess the knowledge of general public on Text Neck Syndrome.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM:

A study to identify the incidence of Text neck syndrome and to assess the knowledge on text neck syndrome among young adolescents in a selected community at Kothamangalam, Ernakulam district, Kerala

QBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY:

1. To identify the incidence of text neck syndrome young adults

2. To assess the knowledge of young adults regarding text neck syndrome

3. To find out the association between the knowledge of young adults regarding text neck syndrome and selected demographic variables.

HYPOTHESIS:

H₁: There will be significant association between the knowledge of young adults regarding text neck syndrome and selected demographic variables.

MATERIALS AND METHODS:

Research approach and design:

Quantitative approach-Descriptive survey research design

Setting of the study:

St. Joseph’s Hospital, Dharmagiri, Kothamangalam

Variables:

Research variables: Incidence of Text neck syndrome, Knowledge on text neck syndrome, Demographic variables: age, gender, educational status, occupation, economic status, income, history of neurologic disorders, previous knowledge.

Sample and sampling technique:

A total of 50 individuals, both male and female patients or their bystanders between the age of 18 to 45 years who visit the selected hospital at Kothamangalam who were selected by purposive sampling.

Data collection Methods and tool:

Data were collected by using a self administered questionnaire contains three section

1. Baseline proforma

2. Knowledge questionnaire.

3. Incidence questionnaire.

RESULTS:

Section I: Baseline characteristics:

Table No: 1 Distribution of sample based on sample characteristics

Sl. No.

Variables

Age (yrs)

18-24

25-31

32-38

39-45

Gender

Male

Female

Educational status

Illiterate

Primary

Secondary

Degree and above

Occupation

Employed

Unemployed

Monthly income ( in Rs)

<5,000

5,001 -10,000

10,001- 15,000

>15,000

Type of family

Joint family

Nuclear family

History of neurological disorder

Yes

Previous knowledge

Yes

N=50

Section II

Table No: 2: Incidence of text neck syndrome N=50

Sl. No:

Items

Frequency

Frequency percentage

Usage

Yes

98%

Time

>2 hrs

< 2 hrs

62%

38%

Neck Pain

Yes

50%

Postural changes

Yes

92%

Consulted doctor

Yes

98%

Treatment

Yes

98%

From the above table 98% of sample are using smart phones and 62% of subjects are using smart phones for greater than 2 hours and 50% of them have pain on back of neck and 8% of sample shows postural changes and only two percentage of samples consulted doctor and took treatment

Section III: a. Evaluation of knowledge on text neck syndrome

Table No: 3. Distribution of subjects based on knowledge score N=50

Score (%)	Grading of knowledge score	f	%
76 -100	Excellent	4	8
51-75	Good	29	58
26-50	Average	16	32
< 25	Poor	1	2

b. Range, Mean, Mean%, Standard deviation of knowledge score:

Table No: 4. Range, Mean, Mean%, Standard deviation of knowledge score

Range	Mean	Mean percentage	Standard deviation
12	9.48	59.25%	2.47

The above tables depict that knowledge score obtained by the sample range between 14-16. The mean score is 9.48, which is only 59.25% of the maximum obtained score that is 16. Majority of the sample (58%) had good knowledge on Text Neck Syndrome.

Section IV: Association of knowledge score on text neck syndrome with selected variables:

H₀: There is no association between the knowledge scores and selected variables at 0.05 level of significance.

Sl. No:	Variable	Chi square	Tabled value	Degree of freedom	Inference
1	Age ( in years)	4.274	7.82	3	Not significant
2	Gender	5.33	3.84	1	Significant
3	Educational status	8.56	7.82	3	Significant
4	Occupation	5.54	7.82	3	Not significant
5	Monthly income	21.45	7.82	3	Significant
6	Type of family	0.411	3.84	1	Not Significant
7	Any neurological disorder	1.23	3.84	1	Not significant
8	Previous knowledge on text neck Syndrome	4.8	3.84	1	Significant

1. Kholoud T. Alsiwed, Rakan M. Alsarwani, Samar A. Alshaikh and etal. The prevalence of text neck syndrome and its association with smart phone use among medical students in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Journal of Musculo Skeletal Surgery and Research; 5(4): 266-272.