Impact of mobile phone usage on dynamic postural control among South Indian college students.

BACKGROUND: Smartphones are a technical marvel that rapidly evolved to play an important role in our lives. One downside to smartphone use is that it significantly worsens posture. It is believed that using a smartphone while walking increases the risk of cognitive decline and the loss of dynamic balance needed to perform functional tasks. OBJECTIVE: The objective of the study was to determine the impact of smartphone usage on dynamic postural control among South Indian college students. METHODS: The study was carried out in a private college with 400 invited students through online social media platforms. The four-square step test and SAS-SV were used to determine the impact of smartphone usage on dynamic postural control. The students were informed about the study process. A total of 250 participants were included based on the inclusion criteria. RESULTS: There was a high percentage of agreement on smartphone usage on dynamic postural control measured with SAS-SV, revealing statistical significance with a mean value of 41.532 and SD of 10.010886. The four-square step test with a mean value of 22.5 and SD of 1.8995878 also proved significant impact. A positive correlation was found between smartphone usage and dynamic postural control, which was analysed using Pearson's correlation coefficient of 0.90130. CONCLUSION: A significant correlation was noted between mobile usage and dynamic balance. Smartphones can have a negative impact on dynamic balance by distracting users from their surroundings and increase the risk of falls.

Efficacy of physiotherapy management on burnout syndrome amongst IT professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic.

BACKGROUND: Burnout is a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by excessive stress. Burnout weakens the energy of an individual which reduces productivity and leaves this individual helpless, hopeless, cynical, and resentful. Thus, an early diagnosis of this syndrome has to be done and ways to prevent the level of progression and complication of burnout syndrome has to be planned. OBJECTIVE: To determine the efficacy of self-supervised Jacobson's relaxation technique along with Bhastrika Pranayama in reducing the level of burnout among the work-from-home IT professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHOD: Thirty participants with burnout syndrome were randomly divided into two groups (15 participants in each group) using random allocation. The experimental group received Jacobson's relaxation technique along with Bhastrika Pranayama, whereas the control group received diaphragmatic breathing exercises and chest expansion exercises. Pre-test and post-test values using Maslach Burnout Inventory were used to interpret the results. RESULTS: Data collected were analyzed statistically by the Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test. It shows that there is a significant reduction in the level of burnout in the experimental group when compared to the control group at a p-value of 0.001. CONCLUSION: From the results, it is concluded that Jacobson's relaxation technique along with diaphragmatic breathing exercises showed significant improvement in the reduction of burnout levels.