Evaluation of Surface EMG in Masticatory, Sternomastoid, and Trapezius Muscles among Smartphone Users with Varying Duration of Mobile Usage: An Observational Cross-Sectional Study

Background: The overuse of smartphones can cause and trigger painful musculoskeletal conditions due to the derangement of muscle function. This study aimed to investigate the impact of daily smartphone usage on the surface electromyographic activity of the masticatory, sternomastoid, and trapezius m...

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Main Authors: Avinash E. Thakare, Pooja S. Salkar, Sandip M. Hulke, Santosh L. Wakode, Rajay N. Bharshankar, Anshul Rai
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications 2025-05-01
Series:Advanced Biomedical Research
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Online Access:https://journals.lww.com/10.4103/abr.abr_288_24
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author Avinash E. Thakare
Pooja S. Salkar
Sandip M. Hulke
Santosh L. Wakode
Rajay N. Bharshankar
Anshul Rai
author_facet Avinash E. Thakare
Pooja S. Salkar
Sandip M. Hulke
Santosh L. Wakode
Rajay N. Bharshankar
Anshul Rai
author_sort Avinash E. Thakare
collection DOAJ
description Background: The overuse of smartphones can cause and trigger painful musculoskeletal conditions due to the derangement of muscle function. This study aimed to investigate the impact of daily smartphone usage on the surface electromyographic activity of the masticatory, sternomastoid, and trapezius muscles as there is limited research in this area. Materials and Methods: A total of 120 young adult smartphone users were categorized into three groups based on their daily duration of mobile usage. They underwent surface electromyography (sEMG) assessment using the Neuropack X1 surface EMG device from Nihon Kohden. Using appropriate statistical methods, the sEMG parameters were compared and correlated within the three groups. Results: The study found a significant increase in resting sEMG activity in the right Trapezius muscle among smartphone users who used their devices for more than 7 hours daily, compared to the other user groups (median interquartile range: 0.49 (0.026, 0.161) vs 0.025 (0.014, 0.049)). Furthermore, the maximum voluntary contraction testing revealed significantly higher sEMG activity in the right Temporalis muscle among smartphone users who used their devices for more than 7 hours daily, compared to the other user groups (median interquartile range: 2.342 (0.972, 3.364) vs 1.391 (0.525, 2.732) vs 1.301 (0.482, 2.083)). Conclusions: The findings suggest that the daily duration of smartphone usage could potentially impact the surface EMG activity of the masticatory, neck, and upper back muscles.
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spelling doaj-art-5452cd8c63d64ef3ad11320ffdddcb802025-08-20T02:05:21ZengWolters Kluwer Medknow PublicationsAdvanced Biomedical Research2277-91752025-05-01141545410.4103/abr.abr_288_24Evaluation of Surface EMG in Masticatory, Sternomastoid, and Trapezius Muscles among Smartphone Users with Varying Duration of Mobile Usage: An Observational Cross-Sectional StudyAvinash E. ThakarePooja S. SalkarSandip M. HulkeSantosh L. WakodeRajay N. BharshankarAnshul RaiBackground: The overuse of smartphones can cause and trigger painful musculoskeletal conditions due to the derangement of muscle function. This study aimed to investigate the impact of daily smartphone usage on the surface electromyographic activity of the masticatory, sternomastoid, and trapezius muscles as there is limited research in this area. Materials and Methods: A total of 120 young adult smartphone users were categorized into three groups based on their daily duration of mobile usage. They underwent surface electromyography (sEMG) assessment using the Neuropack X1 surface EMG device from Nihon Kohden. Using appropriate statistical methods, the sEMG parameters were compared and correlated within the three groups. Results: The study found a significant increase in resting sEMG activity in the right Trapezius muscle among smartphone users who used their devices for more than 7 hours daily, compared to the other user groups (median interquartile range: 0.49 (0.026, 0.161) vs 0.025 (0.014, 0.049)). Furthermore, the maximum voluntary contraction testing revealed significantly higher sEMG activity in the right Temporalis muscle among smartphone users who used their devices for more than 7 hours daily, compared to the other user groups (median interquartile range: 2.342 (0.972, 3.364) vs 1.391 (0.525, 2.732) vs 1.301 (0.482, 2.083)). Conclusions: The findings suggest that the daily duration of smartphone usage could potentially impact the surface EMG activity of the masticatory, neck, and upper back muscles.https://journals.lww.com/10.4103/abr.abr_288_24masticatory musclesmusculoskeletal disordersmusculoskeletal systemsmartphone usesurface electromyographytime domain parameters
spellingShingle Avinash E. Thakare
Pooja S. Salkar
Sandip M. Hulke
Santosh L. Wakode
Rajay N. Bharshankar
Anshul Rai
Evaluation of Surface EMG in Masticatory, Sternomastoid, and Trapezius Muscles among Smartphone Users with Varying Duration of Mobile Usage: An Observational Cross-Sectional Study
Advanced Biomedical Research
masticatory muscles
musculoskeletal disorders
musculoskeletal system
smartphone use
surface electromyography
time domain parameters
title Evaluation of Surface EMG in Masticatory, Sternomastoid, and Trapezius Muscles among Smartphone Users with Varying Duration of Mobile Usage: An Observational Cross-Sectional Study
title_full Evaluation of Surface EMG in Masticatory, Sternomastoid, and Trapezius Muscles among Smartphone Users with Varying Duration of Mobile Usage: An Observational Cross-Sectional Study
title_fullStr Evaluation of Surface EMG in Masticatory, Sternomastoid, and Trapezius Muscles among Smartphone Users with Varying Duration of Mobile Usage: An Observational Cross-Sectional Study
title_full_unstemmed Evaluation of Surface EMG in Masticatory, Sternomastoid, and Trapezius Muscles among Smartphone Users with Varying Duration of Mobile Usage: An Observational Cross-Sectional Study
title_short Evaluation of Surface EMG in Masticatory, Sternomastoid, and Trapezius Muscles among Smartphone Users with Varying Duration of Mobile Usage: An Observational Cross-Sectional Study
title_sort evaluation of surface emg in masticatory sternomastoid and trapezius muscles among smartphone users with varying duration of mobile usage an observational cross sectional study
topic masticatory muscles
musculoskeletal disorders
musculoskeletal system
smartphone use
surface electromyography
time domain parameters
url https://journals.lww.com/10.4103/abr.abr_288_24
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