Objectives. To evaluate the head and neck posture in heavy using smart phone adolescents.
Methods. Two hundred twenty-four undergraduate male students were recruited from different faculties at Pharos University in Alexandria and assigned according to the number of hours spent daily on the smart phone into three groups. Group A used the smart phone for 10-16 hours/day (n = 25); group B used the smart phone for 5-9 hours/day (n = 64); group C used the smart phone for 1-4 hours/day (n = 11). The Postural assessment software (PAS/SAPO) was used to assess head and neck posture from digitalized pictures from anterior, right lateral and left lateral views.
Results. The horizontal alignment of the head and acromion from anterior view, and the vertical alignment of the head from right and left lateral views showed non-significant differences (p > 0.05) among three groups. However, the horizontal alignment of the head from right and left lateral views was significantly higher in group B compared to group A (p < 0.05), while there were non-significant differences (p > 0.05) between (group A versus C) and (group B versus C).
Conclusions. Heavily use of the smart phone negatively affects head and neck posture in adolescents and postural deviations in head and neck are directly proportional to the hours of using the smart phone daily.