Frequency of internet addiction and impact on the musculoskeletal system in high school students

Abstract

It is known that increasing internet use increases internet addiction levels in adolescents and this leads to many health problems, especially musculoskeletal pain. The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence of internet addiction in high school students as well as the impact on the musculoskeletal system. This cross-sectional study included 986 high school students from Diyarbakir, Turkey. The students were assessed using the Socio-demographic Information Form, Young Internet Addiction Scale, Nordic Musculoskeletal System Questionnaire, Visual Analog Scale, and Online Questionnaire method. It was found that 26.2% of the students are addicted to the internet. While neck pain was the leading musculoskeletal system problem of the students in the last 12 months with 61.3%, the low back was the region that had the most impact on adolescents ability to go about their daily lives with 31.2%. The internet addicts' musculoskeletal discomfort in the previous year in all body parts and pain in the last 7 days in all body parts except the elbows were statistically significantly higher than the non-addicted group (p<0.05). The prevalence of internet addiction among students has been found to be significant, and this addiction causes musculoskeletal pain and activity limitations in many body parts.