Prevention and rehabilitation of musculoskeletal disorders in oral health care professionals

Abstract

Background:The objective of this systematic review was to describe the evidence for preventive and rehabilitative interventions for musculoskeletal disorders in dental professionals.Types of Studies Reviewed: Systematic search, screening, and eligibility processes were conducted to identify experimental, quasi-experimental, observational, and survey research studies that either directly evaluated or predicted the effects of preventive or rehabilitative interventions on the reduction of musculoskeletal symptoms in dental professionals.Results: A total of 3,571 unique abstracts were identified and screened, 256 full-text articles were assessed for eligibility, and 34 articles were included in the review. Seventeen experimental studies described the results of preventive or rehabilitation interventions and seventeen survey research studies predicted or correlated preventive/protective techniques to a reduction in musculoskeletal symptoms. The primary techniques evaluated in the studies included equipment modification, ergonomic training, and physical exercise.Practical Implications: Current evidence suggests that magnification loupes and indirect-vision techniques have a positive effect on the reduction of musculoskeletal symptoms. Other techniques have mixed evidence or are limited by low level study design in evaluating intervention efficacy.

Musculoskeletal disorders and related factors in the Colombian orthodontists’ practice

“…In regards to the duration of pain and discomfort episodes related to different anatomical regions, it was found that most symptoms were suffered by individuals for seven or fewer days. This may have been related to uncomfortable working postures and long working hours [5,9,22]; indeed, 50% of orthodontists work even on Sundays [24]. Moreover, the longest episodes were reported for the neck and lower back zones, similar to the findings of a study by Newell and Kumar, which investigated orthodontists in Alberta [14].…”

“…These differences may be explained by the fact that in comparison to older orthodontists, recently graduated orthodontists work more often, tend to have more workplaces, have more frequent patient care appointments (of 20 minutes or less) and work for longer periods (more than 8 hours a day). These factors might lead to early-onset MSDs [28] and greater MSD symptoms in both young orthodontists [14,24] and young DDSs than in older professionals [5,9,22,29,30].…”

“…When those risks are not controlled, MSDs can appear in dental professionals [2]. Their prevalence ranges between 70% to 80% [3][4][5], with multiple manifestations in the neck, shoulders, and lower back associated with non-ergonomic positions that are held during clinical activity, repetitive movements, long working hours, the absence of active breaks, and the non-ergonomic design of the dental workplace [6][7][8][9][10].…”

Prevalence of postural musculoskeletal symptoms among dental students in United Arab Emirates

“…Long term MSDs could affect one’s quality of life. Therefore, identifying factors associated with musculoskeletal problems in the dental workplace is of high importance [ 8 ].…”

Prevalence of Musculoskeletal Symptoms Among Dental Students in United Arab Emirates

“…Therefore, identifying factors associated with musculoskeletal problems in the dental workplace is of high importance. 8 Various studies have been done to record self-perceived health and health-related behaviors of dental students in other countries, 9,10 but little is known about the health of dental students in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Currently only one study investigated the occupational health problems among dentists in the UAE; conducted by Al-Ali and Hashim, 11 which demonstrated that musculoskeletal disorders were the most common (68%) occupational health problem.…”