Muscle Fatigue and Head Flexion Angle Analysis while using Smartphone

Abstract

With the introduction of smartphones, the frequency of usage gradually increased when compared with keypad phones. The statistics show that the number of smartphone users in India alone increased from 200 million to 400 million in 2015-2019. In general, most of the young adults spend an average of 3 to 4 hours daily. The extensive usage of a smartphone causes various disorders, including cervical/neck pain, shoulder pain. The objective is to measure and correlate the relationship between muscle fatigue and the head flexion angle. Also, to analyze the posture using RULA analysis. By utilizing both subjective evaluations through web-based survey and objective evaluation by using both mechanical sensors such as Gyroscope for neck angle measurement and biomedical sensors such as EMG sensor for muscle activity for 14 subjects of age 17 to 26. Head posture, including flexion angle, will be measured, and muscle activity will be observed while using a smartphone in a sitting posture for 1 hour. Expected to understand the correlation between head angle and muscle fatigue while using a smartphone.