Frequency of De Quervain’s tenosynovitis and its association with SMS texting

Abstract

Objective: to assess the frequency of De Quervain's tenosynovitis and its association with SMS texting. Method: a cross-sectional survey was conducted among undergraduate students studying in different physical therapy schools of Karachi belonging to both public and private sectors. Sample size was 300 students which were selected through convenience sampling. Data was collected through self-administered questionnaire and severity of the pain was assessed through Universal Pain Assessment Tool and De Quervain's tenosynovitis was diagnosed through Finkelstein test. Data entry and analysis were done using computer software SPSS version 20. Frequency and percentages were taken for categorical variable. Chi-square was applied to determine association between different variables and Finkelstein test. P value < 0.05 was considered significant. Results: male/female ratio was 1:4. Regarding the use of cell phones, majority 165 (55%) were using regular cell phones, another 89 (30%) were using touch screen and 38 (13%) were using QWERTY key pads. Almost half of the students were frequently using cell phones for texting, out of them 132 (44%) texted less than 50 messages per day. Another 96 (32%) did texting between 50-100 texts. Out of 300 students who filled the questionnaire 125 (42%) students were experiencing pain in the thumb/wrist. Finkelstein test when done on students almost half (n=149) showed positive results. It was noted that as frequency of mobile phone usage increased progressively more and more people showed positive Finkelstein Test (p value 0.000). Conclusion: the result of the study concluded that almost half of the students use their mobile phones for texting more than 50 S.M.S per day and because of their mobile key pads and high speed of texting they experienced pain and weakness over the base of the thumb/wrist which shows the De Quervain's positive in that students and there is a positive association between the thumb pain and frequent text messaging.

Factor structure and measurement invariance of the problematic mobile phone use questionnaire-short version across gender in Chinese adolescents and young adults

“…Despite the convenience of mobile phones, however, the related adverse effects associated with problematic mobile phone use (PMPU) are noteworthy. PMPU has been broadly defined as the inability to regulate one's use of the mobile phone, which eventually involves negative consequences in daily life [9], including somatic discomfort [10,11], sleep disturbance [12,13], negative emotions and stress [14][15][16][17][18][19], poor academic performance [20,21], low self-esteem [22,23], and accidental injuries (e.g., motor vehicle accidents [24], bicycle crashes/near crashes [25], pedestrian collisions, and falls [26]).…”

Assessment of De Quervain Tenosynovitis Patients with Strain-Based Elastography

“…Modern life style escalated the incidence of De Quervain tenosynovitis because of computer and cellular phones excessive use [11].…”

A scoping review on smart mobile devices and physical strain

“…Their results suggested that high volume texting may be a risk for thumb tendinopathy. Equally, Ali et al [59] and Eapen et al [60] associated intense texting with a heightened risk for musculoskeletal disorders of the thumb and wrist. Inal et al [61] demonstrated somewhat enlarged median nerves in high frequent smartphone users, due to the repetitive wrist flexion and extension during smartphone use.…”