A comparison of upper body and limb postures across technology and handheld device use in college students.
Kimberly A Szucs, Kara Cicuto, Marissa Rakow
PMID 30349167WHAT IT FOUND
In 21 healthy college students, tablet use produced more forward head shift and neck flexion than laptop use and baseline posture.
The reported finding is a posture measurement.
Key findings
01Head position shifted and angled significantly differently across device conditions in both the front and side views (p<0.001).
02Tablet use, whether table supported or handheld, differed significantly from other device conditions for head translation, and head angular displacement differed except for table-supported tablet compared with texting.
03Handheld tablet use was the only condition that significantly changed shoulder position relative to baseline.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
The sample was small, healthy, mostly female, all right-hand dominant college students, so findings may not apply to patients with pain, other handedness, or other populations. Participants were excluded if they could not achieve full cervical range of motion or at least 120° of pain-free shoulder flexion or abduction, had arthritis, or had BMI greater than or equal to 25, so people with common musculoskeletal problems or higher BMI were not represented. Postures were measured in a lab shortly after each task began, not during a full day of natural device use. Participants used investigator-provided laptop and tablet, which may not have been familiar or comfortable. The study did not compare device posture with reading a book or writing by hand.
Declared interests
The research received no specific grant from public, commercial, or not-for-profit funding agencies, and the authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that tablet use causes neck or shoulder pain. The paper reports posture differences in 21 healthy college students measured in a short lab task, not symptoms or injury outcomes.