Abstract

Aim: Smartphone use has rapidly increased worldwide, and the negative effects of excessive use have become increasingly apparent, including reductions in fine and gross motor skills, impairments in touch sensation, and psychological problems. This study aims to identify differences in hand functions and touch sensation between women with and without smartphone addiction.
Materials and Methods: A total of 50 healthy women with smartphone addiction and 50 without, all aged 18–40 years, participated in the study. The participants’ two-point discrimination, touch sensation, pain threshold and tolerance, thumb pinch strength, hand grip strength, and normal joint range of motion (ROM) were evaluated.
Results: Significant differences were found between the groups on the dominant side in tactile monofilament, two-point discrimination, pain threshold, pain tolerance, thumb pinch strength, and hand grip strength (p0.05). On the nondominant side, while pain threshold and thumb pinch strength showed significant differences between the groups (p0.05).
Conclusion: This study comprehensively examined the effects of smartphone addiction on hand grip strength, pain threshold and tolerance, and sensory functions in women and demonstrated that the increase in the level of addiction negatively affects both the motor and sensory performance of the hand.

Key words: Smartphone addiction, fine motor skills, joint range of motion, pain, touch sensation