A SURVEY ON LOWER CROSS SYNDROME AND ITS ASSOCIATION WITH SMARTPHONE ADDICTION IN COLLEGE GOING PHYSIOTHEREPY STUDENT – AN OBSERVATIONAL STUDY

Background: Lower Cross Syndrome (LCS) is characterized by an imbalance between tight hip flexors and spinal extensors and weak abdominal and gluteal muscles. Prolonged sitting, static postures, and excessive smartphone use may contribute to postural and musculoskeletal changes. Physiotherapy students are frequently exposed to prolonged academic sitting and smartphone use. Aim: To assess the prevalence of Lower Cross Syndrome and its association with smartphone addiction among college-going physiotherapy students. Methods: A cross-sectional observational study was conducted among physiotherapy students aged 18–25 years in Jalgaon. Students who were willing to participate and scored more than 30 on the Smartphone Addiction Scale–Short Version (SAS-SV) were included. Of 218 students screened, 84 were included in the final analysis. LCS was assessed using the Modified Thomas Test, Modified Schober’s Test, abdominal manual muscle testing, and bilateral gluteus maximus manual muscle testing. Data were analyzed using frequency, percentage, and the Chi-square test, with statistical significance set at p<0.05. Results: Among the 84 participants, 64 (76%) were female and 20 (24%) were male. LCS was present in 3 participants (4%), whereas 81 (96%) did not meet the complete criteria. Right hip flexor tightness was observed in 4% and left hip flexor tightness in 8% of participants. Abdominal muscle strength was predominantly Grade 5 (45.2%), while Grade 4 was the most common grade for right gluteus maximus strength (44.0%). Most participants had smartphone addiction scores between 30 and 34. Conclusion: The prevalence of complete LCS was low among physiotherapy students with higher smartphone addiction scores. Although individual muscular abnormalities were observed, most participants did not fulfil the complete criteria for LCS. Keywords: Lower Cross Syndrome, Smartphone Addiction, Physiotherapy Students, Muscular Imbalance, Posture, Young Adults