Janelle S. K. Lai

This study explored the daily amount of time that early adolescents spent using smartphones and computers, and their influences on health-related quality of life of early adolescents. A total of 650 early adolescents were recruited. The 36-Item Short Form Health Survey was used to measure their health-related quality of life. The early adolescents reported their average daily time spent using smartphones and computers over the course of the previous week; the majority of early adolescents (71%) spent approximately 1 h a day or less using computers on average or reported no computer use, and 98.8% indicated that they used smartphones for less than 1 h to more than 4 h per day on average. The results showed that the average daily time spent using smartphones was significantly negatively associated with two scales in the physical domain and four scales in the mental domain of health-related quality of life of early adolescents, whereas the average daily time spent using computers was significantly negatively associated with two scales in the mental domain (p < 0.05). Therefore, early adolescents who spent more time using smartphones and computers have significantly poorer outcomes in the physical and mental domains of their health-related quality of life.

Adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) is characterized by uneven shoulders, spinal curvature, and uneven hips, and asymmetry in paraspinal muscle activities is common in AIS. This pilot study was aimed at examining the use of a surface electromyography (sEMG) biofeedback posture training program in adolescents with mild scoliosis (Cobb^’s angle < 30^°) to attenuate asymmetry in paraspinal muscle activities and control the curve progression. Seven female adolescents (age, 12–14 years) with mild scoliosis (Cobb^’s angle < 30^°) were recruited. The participants received 30 tailor‐made sessions of sEMG biofeedback posture training at a rate of one to two sessions per week for approximately 6 months. The activities of the paraspinal muscles (the trapezius, latissimus dorsi, thoracic erector spinae, and lumbar erector spinae) measured by sEMG during habitual sitting postures and spinal deformity evaluated by 3D ultrasound imaging were compared before and after training. The mean values of the root‐mean‐square sEMG ratio, an index of symmetry in paraspinal muscle activities of the muscle pairs between the concave and convex sides of the spinal curve, revealed significant asymmetry over the trapezius and lumbar erector spinae before the training (p p < 0.05). In two adolescents, the spinal curvature decreased by 5.7° and 5.6°, respectively, whereas the remaining adolescents showed a minimal curve progression with changes in the spinal curvature controlled under 5°. To conclude, sEMG biofeedback posture training can reduce asymmetry in paraspinal muscle activities and control curve progression in adolescents with mild scoliosis and can potentially be considered an alternative early intervention for muscle reeducation in this cohort.

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the effects of trunk asymmetry on the health-related quality of life of early adolescents and to identify daily activities that were associated with trunk asymmetry in this cohort. Methods: This study included 200 early adolescents (52 male and 148 female) aged 10 to 14 years in Hong Kong. Among them, 100 adolescents were considered to have trunk asymmetry with angle of trunk rotation ≥ 5° and one or more physical signs on visual inspection. The 36-Item Short Form Health Survey was used to measure the eight scales under the physical and mental domains of the health-related quality of life. The adolescents reported their average daily durations spent (1) using a computer; (2) using a smartphone; (3) watching television, videos or DVDs; (4) doing homework; and (5) doing physical exercise. Independent samples t-tests, chi-square (χ²) tests or Mann–Whitney U-tests were performed to compare the health-related quality of life and the average daily duration of daily activities between early adolescents with and without trunk asymmetry. Logistic regression was performed to investigate the odds ratios of daily activities for trunk asymmetry. Results: Compared with early adolescents without trunk asymmetry, those with trunk asymmetry had a lower health-related quality of life in some of the physical domains, namely, bodily pain and general health, and all mental domains, namely, vitality (energy/fatigue), social functioning, role limitation due to emotional problems and mental health (p < 0.05). Use of computer was found to be significantly associated with trunk asymmetry in early adolescents (OR = 1.63, 95% CI [1.23, 2.14]). Conclusion: Our results indicate that increased computer use is associated with trunk asymmetry, which negatively impacts the health-related quality of life in early adolescents.