The prevalence of neck pain in mobile gaming players among undergraduate students in Karachi, Pakistan

Abstract

Background: In recent years, mobile phones have become indispensable for communication and entertainment.However, the surge in mobile gaming and its diverse offerings has led to prolonged gameplay without adequate breaks. So, people often adopt flexed neck positions, leading to neck pain. This study aims to identify the prevalence of neck pain in undergraduate students addicted to mobile gaming.

Objective: The study investigates the prevalence of neck pain due to mobile gaming addiction among undergraduate students studying in Karachi.

Methods: This cross-sectional study involves 405 undergraduate male and female students aged between 18 to 24 years from different universities and institutes in Karachi after obtaining institutional ethical approval having reference number ASHEC-PT-0125/12/22. Participants completed a questionnaire that included demographic information, the NPRS scale, and NDI measures.

Results: The mean age was 21.3±1.9 years. The NPRS showed a 74.1% prevalence of neck pain, 46.9% reported mild, 23.7% reported moderate and 3.5% reported severe pain. Furthermore, 25.9% had no pain while playing mobile games on smartphones. Additionally, NDI showed 23.5% no disability, 43.7% found mild disability, 23.5% found moderate disability, 7.2% found severe disability and 2.2% found complete disability. There was a significant association between daily time spent playing games and NPRS (p-value < 0.05).

Conclusion: The study findings highlighted that 74.1% of the total participants reported neck pain and discomfort. Also, a significant association between neck pain and mobile device usage for gaming purposes was observed due to prolonged poor posture, repetitive neck movements, and excessive flexion of the neck.