The effects of smartphone multitasking on gait and dynamic balance.
Jeon Hyeong Lee, Myoung Hee Lee
PMID 29545698WHAT IT FOUND
Young adults took longer on a timed 10 m walk and on a Timed Up and Go while writing a message, with music, or with conversation.
Step length and width were not reported as different.
Key findings
01Left and right step length and step width showed no statistically significant differences among the general gait and smartphone task conditions (p>0.05).
02Walking while writing a message, walking while writing a message and listening to music, and walking while writing a message and having a conversation produced longer mean times than general gait on the 10 m walking test (p<0.05).
03The same task conditions produced longer mean times than general gait on the Timed Up and Go test (p<0.05).
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 limited to 19 male and 20 female asymptomatic university participants, so it does not describe older adults or patients. The authors excluded the older generation because the study focused on young people. Only selected smartphone task conditions were tested: writing a message, writing a message with music, and writing a message with conversation. The treadmill walking speed was specified and did not match the participants' ordinary walking speed. No falls, accidents, or real-world walking environments were measured. The study did not separate the contribution of writing, music, and conversation.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflict of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that smartphone multitasking causes falls or that these results apply to patients. The study measured timed walking and Timed Up and Go performance in 19 male and 20 female asymptomatic young adults, and the task conditions included writing a message, listening to music, or having a conversation, so the contribution of any single component cannot be separated.