Clinical Scorecard: The Relationship Between Adolescent Mobile Phone Dependency and the Incidence of Musculoskeletal Pain

At a Glance

Key Highlights

• Over half of adolescents reported musculoskeletal pain in at least one body region in the prior six months, predominantly upper back and neck pain.
• Higher mobile phone dependence (MPD) scores, especially the abuse/difficulty regulating use dimension, are associated with general and neck pain.
• Psychosocial factors may confound or mediate the MPD–pain relationship, and disaggregating device dependence by activity type could clarify exposure–outcome links.

Guideline-Based Recommendations

Diagnosis

• Use validated questionnaires such as the Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire to assess pain prevalence and location.
• Incorporate psychosocial screening tools (e.g., Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire) to identify confounding or mediating factors.

Management

• Address mobile phone dependence focusing on abuse and difficulty regulating use behaviors.
• Consider interventions targeting psychosocial stress and sleep disruption as potential mediators of pain.

Monitoring & Follow-up

• Use repeated short-window assessments to align exposure (MPD) and outcome (pain) temporally for better inference.
• Monitor pain severity dimensions (frequency, intensity, interference) to distinguish clinically meaningful pain.

Risks

• Cross-sectional design limits causal inference; psychosocial factors may inflate observed associations if unaccounted for.
• Aggregated device dependence measures may obscure activity-specific risks related to pain.

Patient & Prescribing Data

Adolescents aged 10–18 years with reported musculoskeletal pain and mobile phone dependence

Targeting specific dimensions of mobile phone dependence, particularly abuse and difficulty regulating use, may reduce musculoskeletal pain; psychosocial and behavioral factors should be concurrently addressed.

Clinical Best Practices

• Include psychosocial assessments to adjust for confounding and mediation in technology use–pain studies.
• Disaggregate mobile phone dependence by activity type (e.g., social media, gaming) to identify specific pain risk behaviors.
• Incorporate pain severity and interference measures to improve clinical relevance of pain assessments.
• Align exposure and outcome measurement windows to reduce reverse causation and recall bias.

References

• Parra-Fernandez et al. (2025) Frontiers in Pain Research
• World Health Organization report on adolescent digital device use
• Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ)