Musculoskeletal issues and risks in school children associated with cellphone and backpack use and strategies that parents and teachers can adopt to prevent them
Main Article Content
Abstract
Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are becoming increasingly common among school-aged children, largely due to prolonged smartphone use, poor posture, and carrying heavy backpacks. These everyday habits can lead to discomfort in the neck, back, shoulders, and hands— sometimes even causing structural changes and affecting a child’s well-being, academic performance, and mental health.
This review explores the key risk factors behind MSDs in children, including ergonomic challenges, screen time, backpack load, physical inactivity, and psychological stress. It also highlights practical, evidence-based strategies for prevention, such as promoting ergonomic education, healthy posture, regular physical activity, and better backpack and furniture design. The important role of parents, teachers, and schools in creating supportive environments is emphasized throughout.
By taking early preventive action and making small but meaningful changes in daily routines and school settings, we can help reduce the growing burden of musculoskeletal symptoms and support healthier development in children.
Keywords:
Musculoskeletal disorders, smartphone use, backpack ergonomics, school children, postural health, ergonomic education, preventive strategies
Article Details
How to Cite
NANEHKERAN, Mahlagha Mousavi; NOURBAKHSH, Ali.
Musculoskeletal issues and risks in school children associated with cellphone and backpack use and strategies that parents and teachers can adopt to prevent them.
Medical Research Archives, [S.l.], v. 13, n. 6, july 2025.
ISSN 2375-1924.
Available at: <https://esmed.org/MRA/mra/article/view/6563>. Date accessed: 14 dec. 2025.
doi: https://doi.org/10.18103/mra.v13i6.6563.
Section
Review Articles
The Medical Research Archives grants authors the right to publish and reproduce the unrevised contribution in whole or in part at any time and in any form for any scholarly non-commercial purpose with the condition that all publications of the contribution include a full citation to the journal as published by the Medical Research Archives.
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2. Toh SH, Coenen P, Howie EK, Straker LM. The associations of mobile touch screen device use with musculoskeletal symptoms and exposures: A systematic review. PLoS One. 2017;12(8):e018122 0. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0181220
3. Ben Ayed H, Yaich S, Trigui M, et al. Prevalence, risk factors, and outcomes of neck, shoulders, and low-back pain in secondary-school children. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020;17(3):694. doi:10.3390/ijerph17030694
4. David D, Giannini C, Chiarelli F, Mohn A. Text neck syndrome in children and adolescents. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021;18(4):1565. doi:10.3390/ijerph18041565
5. Suri C, Shojaei I, Bazrgari B. Effects of school backpacks on spine biomechanics during daily activities: A narrative review of literature. Hum Factors. 2020;62(6):879-892. doi:10.1177/0018720819858792
6. Alvi Z, Alvi A, Mascarenhas MA, Alvi M, Zakzanis KK. Musculoskeletal symptomatology in skeletally immature students carrying heavy backpacks: A cross- sectional study. BMC Musculoskelet Disord. 2024;25:18845. doi:10.1186/s12891-024- 06845-3
7. Guerra PH, Martelo R, da Silva MN, et al. Screen time and low back pain in children and adolescents: A systematic review of Brazilian studies. J Pediatr (Rio J). 2023;41(1):e2021342. doi:10.1590/1984-0462/2023/41/2021342
8. Fraiz Barbeito M, Rey Veiga S, González González Y, et al. Epidemiology of spinal pain in a population of schoolchildren from Spain. Arch Argent Pediatr. 2021;119(4):364. doi:10.5546/aap.2021.eng.364
9. Tsantili AR, Chrysikos D, Troupis T. Text neck syndrome: Disentangling a new epidemic. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2023;20(3):2850. doi:10.3390/ijerph20032850
10. Yang S, Boudier-Revéret M, Yi YG, Hong KY, Chang MC. Treatment of chronic neck pain in patients with forward head posture: A systematic narrative review. Healthcare (Basel). 2023;11(19): 2604. doi:10.3390/healthcare11192604
11. Mersal FA, Abu Negm LMM, Fawzy MS, et al. Effect of mobile phone use on musculoskeletal complaints: Insights from nursing students at Northern Border University, Arar, Saudi Arabia. J Pain Res. 2023;16:1777-1789. doi:10.2147/JPR.S428888
12. Hakami I, Sherwani A, Hadadi M, et al. Assessing the impact of smartphone use on neck pain and related symptoms among residents in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia: A cross-sectional study. Cureus. 2024;16(2):e64299. doi:10.7759/cureus.64299
13. Chen YL, Nguyen HT. User walking speed and standing posture influence head/neck flexion and viewing behavior while using a smartphone. Healthcare (Basel). 2023;11(23):3027. doi:10.3390/healthcare11233027
14. Osser B, Toth C, Nistor-Cseppento CD, et al. Evaluating tech neck: A pilot study using a self-developed questionnaire on symptoms, posture, and preventive measures. J Pain Res. 2023; 16:3489-3498. doi:10.2147/JPR.S430598
15. Salameh MA, Boyajian SD, Amaireh EA, et al. Prevalence of text neck syndrome, its impact on neck dysfunction, and its associated factors among medical students: A cross-sectional study. BMC Musculoskelet Disord. 2024;25:13064. doi:10.1186/s12891-024- 06578-1
16. Gökmen HM, Gökmen IG, Dilek B, Gülbahar S, Akalın E. Addiction of smartphones and related finger deformities: A case report. Turk J Phys Med Rehabil. 2020;66(3):425-426. doi: 10.5606/tftrd.2020.4256
17. Demirkıran ND, Özmanevra R, Öner SK, Kozlu S, Dülgeroğlu T. An investigation on the effect of smartphone use on morphological and radiological changes of the fifth finger. J Clin Med Res. 2024;13(1):60-66. doi:10.16899/jcm.1401015
18. Aldanyowi SN, Al Haboob LM, Al Mssallem NI. The hidden pain: Understanding smartphone pinky awareness and risk perception in the Eastern Province population. Cureus. 2023;15(4):e64350. doi:10.7759/cureus.64350
19. Mongkonkansai J, Veerasakul S, Mohd Tamrin SB, Madardam U. Predictors of musculoskeletal pain among primary school students using smartphones in Nakhon Si Thammarat, Thailand. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022;19(17):10530. doi:10.3390/ijerph191710530
20. Shinde S, Vaidya A, Bhore PR. Correlation between the Guyon Canal Syndrome and the Forward Head Posture in prolonged smartphone users. Int J Occup Saf Health. 2022;12(4):276-283. doi:10.3126/ijosh.v12i4.42537
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