Title: Forward neck posture on cervical pain among university students: effect of smartphone addiction

Authors: Selvaraj Antoniraj; Hafizah Che Hassan; K. Baleswamy

Addresses: Department of Physiotherapy, Faculty of Applied Science, Lincoln University College, Petaling Jaya, Selangor-47301, Malaysia ' Lincoln University College, Petaling Jaya, Selangor-47301, Malaysia ' Department of Medicine, Lincoln University College, Petaling Jaya, Selangor-47301, Malaysia

Abstract: These days, smartphones are used for much more than just making and receiving phone calls and text messages; they can also be used to view and share media, surf the web, and send and receive electronic mail. A cross-sectional analysis of college students between the ages of 17 and 30, who were using smartphones for prolonged period of time. The survey was conducted through an online questionnaire. Simple random sampling was used to get 404 samples, 216 of which were men and 188 of which were women. There is a positive and highly significant (p < 0.01) association between forward neck posture and cervical pain in college students. Using a smartphone excessively is associated with increased risk of cervical pain (p < 0.01). The findings of this study reveal that the extended and extensive use of smartphones by university undergraduates is a key contributing cause of their neck pain.

Keywords: cervical pain; neck posture; smartphone addiction; students.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMEI.2026.151773

International Journal of Medical Engineering and Informatics, 2026 Vol.18 No.2, pp.198 - 205

Received: 05 Nov 2022
Accepted: 10 Feb 2023
Published online: 19 Feb 2026 *

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