PREVALENCE OF TEXT NECK SYNDROME AMONG THE UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS OF KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA

Abstract

Text neck syndrome is a type of injury that can happen when people use electronic devices excessively. If it remains untreated, it becomes worse and affects the nerves and spine. In the Pandemic of COVID-19, the use of electronic gadgets increases, especially for academics and entertainment. Excessive use with improper posture can lead to neck and shoulder pain. The goal of this study's was to figure out how many undergraduate Allied Health Sciences students have text neck syndrome using a measuring tool called the neck disability index. Also to see if there's a connection between excessive use of electronic gadgets with text neck syndrome. The validated Neck Disability Index questionnaire that students filled out to measure how neck pain affects them. We sent this questionnaire to undergraduate students through Google Forms, and the 300 filled questionnaire was collected from the respondent. The data were analyzed using SPSS version 26. There were 8 questions, each question can have a maximum score of 5, with higher scores indicating more severe disability. The total score is used to categorize neck disability into five categories: 0–4: No disability, 5–14: Mild disability, 15–24: Moderate disability, 25–34: Severe disability, >34: Complete disability. A total of 300 students from 4 universities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) region participated in study. Text neck syndrome was found in 69.9% of the people we studied. Average age of participants were 23 Years. Majority of the respondents were male, making up 83.7% of the participants. Our survey results indicate that a significant majority of respondents, comprising 206 (70.3%) out of 300 people, either strongly agree or agree that smartphone usage is a factor contributing to missing planned work. This suggests a clear consensus among participants regarding the impact of smartphones on productivity.