ArticleBMC musculoskeletal disorders2014
The spinal posture of computing adolescents in a real-life setting.
Article in BMC musculoskeletal disorders, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT03745469 (Effects of Smartphone Usage Duration on Neck Dysfunction in Young Versus Middle Aged Patients With Chronic Mechanical Neck Pain), which is not on this map. Cited by 14 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Effects of Smartphone Usage Duration on Neck Dysfunction in Young Versus Middle Aged Patients With Chronic Mechanical Neck Pain
Who cites it
14 citing papers in PubMed, 41 citations in OpenAlex.
- Smartphone gaming while walking increases visual fatigue compared with standing.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Classifying office workers with and without cervicogenic headache or neck and shoulder pain using posture-based deep learning models: a multicenter retrospective study.Frontiers in pain research (Lausanne, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Gender Differences in Head and Neck Posture Among Smartphone Users While Walking: Insights from Field Observations in Taipei.Journal of functional morphology and kinesiology · 2024Article
- Gender differences in neck muscle activity during near-maximum forward head flexion while using smartphones with varied postures.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- User Walking Speed and Standing Posture Influence Head/Neck Flexion and Viewing Behavior While Using a Smartphone.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Sitting Posture during Prolonged Computer Typing with and without a Wearable Biofeedback Sensor.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Article
- A Two Joint Neck Model to Identify Malposition of the Head Relative to the Thorax.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Article
- Lower spinal postural variability during laptop-work in subjects with cervicogenic headache compared to healthy controls.Scientific reports · 2021Observational
- Neck pain associated with smartphone overuse: cross-sectional report of a cohort study among office workers.European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society · 2021Article
- Increased Computer Use is Associated with Trunk Asymmetry That Negatively Impacts Health-Related Quality of Life in Early Adolescents.Patient preference and adherence · 2021Article
- Pain, pain intensity and pain disability in high school students are differently associated with physical activity, screening hours and sleep.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2017Article
- The Influence of Natural Head Position on the Cervical Sagittal Alignment.Journal of healthcare engineering · 2017Article
- Photographic measurement of head and cervical posture when viewing mobile phone: a pilot study.European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society · 2015Article
- Wrist Hypothermia Related to Continuous Work with a Computer Mouse: A Digital Infrared Imaging Pilot Study.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2015Observational
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundIt is assumed that good postural alignment is associated with the less likelihood of musculoskeletal pain symptoms. Encouraging good sitting postures have not reported consequent musculoskeletal pain reduction in school-based populations, possibly due to a lack of clear understanding of good posture. Therefore this paper describes the variability of postural angles in a cohort of asymptomatic high-school students whilst working on desk-top computers in a school computer classroom and to report on the relationship between the postural angles and age, gender, height, weight and computer use.
methodsThe baseline data from a 12 month longitudinal study is reported. The study was conducted in South African school computer classrooms. 194 Grade 10 high-school students, from randomly selected high-schools, aged 15-17 years, enrolled in Computer Application Technology for the first time, asymptomatic during the preceding month, and from whom written informed consent were obtained, participated in the study. The 3D Posture Analysis Tool captured five postural angles (head flexion, neck flexion, cranio-cervical angle, trunk flexion and head lateral bend) while the students were working on desk-top computers. Height, weight and computer use were also measured. Individual and combinations of postural angles were analysed.
results944 Students were screened for eligibility of which the data of 194 students are reported. Trunk flexion was the most variable angle. Increased neck flexion and the combination of increased head flexion, neck flexion and trunk flexion were significantly associated with increased weight and BMI (p = 0.0001).
conclusionsHigh-school students sit with greater ranges of trunk flexion (leaning forward or reclining) when using the classroom computer. Increased weight is significantly associated with increased sagittal plane postural angles.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.