Abstract
Background: De Quervain’s tenosynovitis (DQT) is becoming a common problem for young adults and has been associated with extended, sporadic smartphone usage. Nevertheless, only a handful of studies have concurrently used reliable instruments to evaluate smartphone addiction and the inconvenience caused by wrist and thumb symptoms in students.
Objective: To determine the occurrence and intensity of pain in wrist and thumb related to DQT among college students and to look into its relationship with smartphone addiction.
Methods: A cross-sectional analytical research was performed for 6 months at Allama Iqbal Medical College, Lahore, Pakistan. Out of 106 students aged 18-25 years who were regular smartphone users, willing to participate in the study were chosen through non-probability convenience sampling. The Smartphone Addiction Scale-Short Version (SAS-SV) was used to measure smartphone addiction. The Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) was employed to record the intensity of wrist/thumb pain, and the Patient-Rated Wrist/Hand Evaluation (PRWHE) was utilized to assess functional limitations. Clinical detection of DQT was carried out with the Finkelstein test. The data were processed in SPSS v25 where descriptive statistics were applied and Pearson chi-square tests were run to find out associations among smartphone addiction, gender and pain severity.
Results: The average age of those involved in the study was 20.5 ± 1.89 years; 81.1% were females. The average SAS-SV score was 42.9 ± 11.1, with 80.2% of students being classified as having smartphone use problems; 71.7% admitted to using their phones for 6 hours or more daily. Pain experienced in the wrist/thumb area was prevalent: 39.6% indicated moderate pain, 20.8% severe, and 17.0% very severe in intensity. The total mean score for the PRWHE was at 57.3 ± 18.0, implying serious functional reduction. The classification of smartphone addiction showed a strong relation to gender (χ² = 6.09, p = 0.014). Pain severity was higher in students with problematic smartphone use which was a significant finding (p ≈ 0.057).
Conclusion:
Wrist and thumb symptoms similar to DQT, in addition to problematic smartphone use, are very common among university students. The excessive smartphone use can significantly increase the pain and limit the functional activities of theuser, so, it is very pain, but it is an urgent mobile phone, and this population needs early screening, ergonomic education, and preventive physiotherapy interventions.
Objective: To determine the occurrence and intensity of pain in wrist and thumb related to DQT among college students and to look into its relationship with smartphone addiction.
Methods: A cross-sectional analytical research was performed for 6 months at Allama Iqbal Medical College, Lahore, Pakistan. Out of 106 students aged 18-25 years who were regular smartphone users, willing to participate in the study were chosen through non-probability convenience sampling. The Smartphone Addiction Scale-Short Version (SAS-SV) was used to measure smartphone addiction. The Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) was employed to record the intensity of wrist/thumb pain, and the Patient-Rated Wrist/Hand Evaluation (PRWHE) was utilized to assess functional limitations. Clinical detection of DQT was carried out with the Finkelstein test. The data were processed in SPSS v25 where descriptive statistics were applied and Pearson chi-square tests were run to find out associations among smartphone addiction, gender and pain severity.
Results: The average age of those involved in the study was 20.5 ± 1.89 years; 81.1% were females. The average SAS-SV score was 42.9 ± 11.1, with 80.2% of students being classified as having smartphone use problems; 71.7% admitted to using their phones for 6 hours or more daily. Pain experienced in the wrist/thumb area was prevalent: 39.6% indicated moderate pain, 20.8% severe, and 17.0% very severe in intensity. The total mean score for the PRWHE was at 57.3 ± 18.0, implying serious functional reduction. The classification of smartphone addiction showed a strong relation to gender (χ² = 6.09, p = 0.014). Pain severity was higher in students with problematic smartphone use which was a significant finding (p ≈ 0.057).
Conclusion:
Wrist and thumb symptoms similar to DQT, in addition to problematic smartphone use, are very common among university students. The excessive smartphone use can significantly increase the pain and limit the functional activities of theuser, so, it is very pain, but it is an urgent mobile phone, and this population needs early screening, ergonomic education, and preventive physiotherapy interventions.