Evaluation of Wrist Muscles and Grip Strength in Smartphone Users - An Observational Study

Abstract

Background: - Prolonged usage of smartphone may lead to pain around thumb and wrist. Thus, there is a need to assess the muscles strength of wrist and hand among smartphone users. Method: - 140 (70 males and 70 females) young college going adults with age group between 17-23 years were randomly selected for the study. Wrist muscle strength and power grip strength were assessed using hand held dynamometer. Pinch grip strength was assessed using pinchometer. Results: - Peak mean strength of wrist flexor was 10.40(4.43) Kg, wrist extensor was 10.48(4.79) Kg, power grip was 30.73(13.69) Kg and pinch grip was 5.58(1.59) Kg. Spearman’s correlation coefficient ranged from 0.6 to 1 between wrist and grip strength. Conclusion: - Currently there is no adverse effect of smartphone usage on pinch and power grip but wrist muscles are found to be weak. Key words: Wrist muscles, Grip, Handheld dynamometer, Pinchometer