The Hidden Pain: Understanding Smartphone Pinky Awareness and Risk Perception in the Eastern Province Population.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE: The detrimental effects of smartphone addiction impair hand functions and pinch strength. One prominent issue is the occurrence of "smartphone pinky," which leads to dysfunction and pain in the fifth finger. This study aims to assess the level of awareness regarding smartphone pinky and its associated risk factors among the population of the Eastern Provinces.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study was carried out on 500 participants from the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. Participants voluntarily took part in the research, which spanned from July 2023 to February 2024. Data collection was carried out using a semi-structured questionnaire designed to gauge awareness of smartphone pinky and its contributing factors within the Eastern Province population.

RESULTS

The study included 500 participants. This study showed that about half of the participants (48.8%) use smartphones for five to eight hours during the day. Moreover, about two-thirds of them (64.6%) held the smartphone in the wrong way. The majority of participants 74.4% have not heard about the smartphone pinky. Also, the results reveal that less than half of the participants (45.8%) think that the smartphone pinky can affect daily life.

CONCLUSIONS

This study concluded that the majority of participants have not heard about smartphone pinky and do not have awareness of the risk factors of smartphone use.