Association between cervical posture, smartphone use, and physical activity: a pilot study

Relação entre postura cervical, uso de smartphone e atividade física: estudo piloto

Introduction:  The increasing use of smartphones has raised concerns among health professionals, particularly regarding its effects on mental health and sedentary behavior.

Objective:  To investigate the association between cervical posture, average daily smartphone use, and weekly physical activity in young adults.

Methods:  This cross-sectional study included 13 participants (five men and eight women) with a mean age of 33.9 ± 2.6 years. Cervical posture was assessed by photogrammetry using the Brazilian-developed Postural Assessment Software to analyze horizontal (HHA) and vertical head alignment (VHA). Daily smartphone use time was obtained from device-generated reports, and weekly physical activity was self-reported. Associations between variables were examined using Spearman's correlation coefficient (rs), with statistical significance set at p < 0.05.

Results:  No statistically significant associations were found between smartphone use and HHA (r_s = −0.058; p = 0.851) or VHA (r_s = −0.215; p = 0.480). Weekly physical activity showed a moderate positive correlation with HHA (r_s = 0.452; p = 0.121) and a negative correlation with VHA (r_s = −0.338; p = 0.258), neither reaching statistical significance.

Conclusion:  Smartphone use and physical activity were not significantly associated with cervical posture alignment in this sample.

Keywords:
Posture; Mobile phone; Physical exercise; Photogrammetry