Investigation of the effect of technology and internet addictions on the musculoskeletal system in university students during the post-pandemic period

Objective: The COVID-19 pandemic caused the habits of university students to have spent more time with technological devices and the internet. This study is aimed to investigate the effect of technology and internet addictions of university students on the musculoskeletal (MSK) problems during the post-pandemic period.
Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted with 368 university students. The Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire, Pain Numerical Rating Scale, Technology Addiction Scale (TAS), Young's Internet Addiction Test-Short Form (YIAT-SF), and Örebro Musculoskeletal Screening Questionnaire-12-TR (Örebro-12-TR) were applied. Multiple linear regression analysis was performed to assess the effect of technology addiction and internet addiction on the MSK problem.
Results: The mean TAS score of the participants was 45.94±15.46, the mean YIAT-SF score was 24.56±9.52, and the mean Örebro-12-TR score was 35.55±17.14. Technology (p=0.037) and internet addiction (p=0.001) variables had a significant effect on MSK problem. This model can explain 18.4% of the total variance in the risk of developing MSK problems (adjusted R2=0.184).
Conclusion: This study showed that internet and technology addictions affected the MSK problems during the post-pandemic period. Interventions and training programs could reduce the risk of MSK problems.