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Table 1 Study characteristics

From: Musculoskeletal disorders in video gamers – a systematic review

First author (year), country

Study design

Population

Sample size (n)

Mean Age [yrs] (range), sex

Types of video gaming devicea

Definition of MSD to identify changesb

Evaluation methods

Body regions of interest

Burke (2002), USA [41]

Cross sectional survey

School students

212

12.4 (5 – 18),

52% female

Computer, console, handheld

Presence of cumulative trauma disorders

Non-standardized questionnaire

Back, head, neck, wrist

DiFrancisco-Donoghue (2019), USA [37]

Cross sectional survey

College esport players

65

NR (18 – 22),

NR

Computer, more CD

Reported pain in different body regions

Non-standardized questionnaire

Back, hand, neck, wrist

Hakala (2006), Finland [38]

Cross sectional survey

School students

6003

14-, 16-, 18-year-olds,

52.2% female

Computer, console

Neck-shoulder pain [NSP] or lower back pain [LBP] in the past 6 months

Non-standardized questionnaire

Back, neck, shoulder

Hellström (2015), Sweden [39]

Cross sectional survey

School students

7757

13–14-, 15–16-, 17–18-year-olds,

50% female

Computer, console, more CD

MSK pain during the past 3 months

Non-standardized questionnaire

Summarized3

Kang (2003), Korea [33]

Cross sectional survey

Gaming room visitors and college students

284

22.9 (17—29),

100% male

Computer

Presence, duration and severity of MSDs in upper limbs

NIOSH Criteria

Elbow, hand, neck, shoulder, wrist

Lindberg (2020), Denmark [25]

Cross sectional survey

Esport athletes

188

17.1 (15 – 35),

97.9% male

Computer

MSK pain during the previous week

Non-standardized questionnaire

Back, neck, shoulder

Ma (2019), China [34]

Cross sectional survey

Junior college students

500

17.9 (16—20),

60% male

Smartphone

(1) Positive test for de Quervain’s disease

(2) Limited wrist movements in the past 2 weeks

(1) Finkelstein's test

(2) Partially standardized questionnaire

Wrist

Meziat-Filho (2017), Brazil [35]

Cross sectional survey

High school students

1102

16.8 (14 – 20),

53.3% female

Computer

Neck pain

Partially standardized questionnaire

Neck

Sekiguchi (2018a), Japan [42]

Cross sectional survey

School-aged athletes

6143

11Median (6—15),

71.1% male

Computer, console, handheld, smartphone

Current pain in different body parts

Non-standardized questionnaire

Summarizedc

Sekiguchi (2018b), Japan [43]

Cross sectional survey

Young baseball players

200

11 (9—12),

100% male

Computer, console, handheld, smartphone

Elbow or shoulder pain (in throwing arm) during the past 12 months

Non-standardized questionnaire

Elbow, shoulder

Silva (2016), Brazil [44]

Cross sectional survey

High school students

961

16.5

(14—19),

61.6% female

Computer, console, handheld

Presence of musculoskeletal pain in the last 6 months

Non-standardized questionnaire

Summarizedc

Tazawa (2001), Japan [36]

Cross sectional survey

School students

1143

NR (6 – 11),

51.2% male

Console

Current or equivocal trapezius stiffness [MS] or

MS and displacement of scapula [DS/MS]

Non-standardized questionnaire

Neck, shoulder

Torsheim (2010), Norway [40]

Cross sectional survey

School students in Nordic European countries

31,022

11-, 13-, 15-year-olds,

50% female

Computer, console

Physical complaints in past 6 months (backache and headache)

HBSC-Symptom checklist

Back, head

Wang (2019), China [26]

Experimental study

College students

12

24.2 (21—28),

58% female

Smartphone

(1) Muscle tension during experiment

(2)

Musculoskeletal discomfort

(1) Surface electromyography

(2) Visual analog

Hand

Xavier (2015), Brazil [46]

Cross sectional survey

High school students

954

16.5 (14—19),

61.4% female

Computer, console, handheld

Prevalence of headache

Non-standardized questionnaire

Head

Yabe (2018), Japan [45]

Cross sectional survey

School-aged athletes

6441

11Median (6—15),

71% male

Computer, console, handheld

Current pain in different body parts

Non-standardized questionnaire

Back

  1. CD Cannot determine, MSD Musculoskeletal Disorder, NR Not reported, Yrs Years
  2. aIndicated video gaming devices. Possible devices are computer, console, handheld and smartphone
  3. bHow MSDs are defined and/or how are changes determined
  4. cResults of different body regions were collected independently but presented summarized
  5. MedianMedian was indicated