Have you ever felt that sharp pain in your back and wondered “what is going on?” well it could be a cause from what is called Musculoskeletal Disorder. Musculoskeletal Disorder has a wide range of effects on different parts of the human body and affecting over hundreds of millions of people, it causes long-term pain and disability. In this paper we mainly will discuss MSD of the lower back.
At one time as many as 85% of the population has experienced lower back pain (LBP) in recent years. For doctor visits the reason has become the second, this is not including those whom do not question or seek advice for the problem and just in hope that one day the pain will go away. Those who have reported lower back pain have “either neck pain 41% of the time, or hand or wrist pain 38% of the time.”
“Musculoskeletal disorder arises from a number of sources; however the primary cause in the dental practice is the prolonged static posture (PSP’s)” (oral health group, 2009). Postures is important when working in the dental field however there is not an ideal sitting position and even the upright position wears on the lower back.
Work areas in the dental field are narrow and because of the narrow work space it causes the operator or the assistant to have an inflexible work posture. “Studies indicate that back, neck and shoulder or arm pain is present in up to 81% of dental operators.” (Nutalapati, 2009).
In the prevention of work related MSD Ergonomics is the primary goal. Sitting in an uncomfortable position can be a great contribute to the MSD factor. In dentistry there a way to minimize the position that may also be a factor to the MSD and that is called Four handed dentistry. In the office four handed dentistry is what most would say ...
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... a dental chair that can support the back of the dentist also having a comfortable chair for the dentist is helpful.
“The reporting of musculoskeletal symptoms by dental students as early as the first year of the dental program suggests the ergonomics should be covered and taught as part of the dental curriculum to reduce risk of MSD in the future.” (Chew, 2013)
Bibliography
(2009, 02 01). Retrieved from oral health group: www.oralhealthgroup.com/new/musculoskeletal-disorders-and-the-impact-on-the-dental-professional/1000226354
Chew, K. a. (2013). Ebsco host. Retrieved from http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2474/14/118
Muralidharan, D. (2013). Retrieved from Musculoskeletal disorder among Dental Practitioners : www.hindawi.com/journals/eri/2013/716897
Nutalapati, R. (2009). Retrieved from Internet Scientific Publication: http://ispub.com/IJOH/I/I/6253
Dental hygiene is amongst many professions that come with an increased risk of injury. In fact, evidence suggests that the incidence of dental professionals acquiring musculoskeletal disorders is reaching 96%. According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), these complications are a result of “repetitive motion or awkward posture for more than 2 hours at a time, unassisted frequent manual handling (eg, scaling an area using the same strokes), and unassisted forced manual handling (eg, heavy calculus removal using hand-activated instruments)”. These complications not only affect the quality of life for the
Being a dental assistant can be very challenging when it comes to posture and sitting properly. There are several musculoskeletal disorders that can affect your job in the long run. Some so severe you may have to have surgery!! I don’t think we want that.
Due to poor positioning, dental hygienist are at a risk of developing musculoskeletal disorders such as “the tendons, tendons sheaths, muscles, and nerves of hands, wrists, arms, elbows, shoulders, neck and back” (Darby & Walsh page 144). 70% of members of the dental team, including dentists, assistants and hygienists reported of having some sort of back pain due to improper positioning http://www.ada.org/en/publications/ada-news/2013-archive/july/posturing-for-relief). Of those 70%, 79% admitted that their back pain was indeed worsening as they continued to perform the same tasks http://www.ada.org/en/publications/ada-news/2013-archive/july/posturing-for-relief).. This is primarily due to repetitive strain syndrome, which include muscoskeletal
Patients feel fear not so much from the actual pain but from the lack of control that they feel lying in a dental chair. That creates a lot of anxiousness in some patients, as they don’t feel helpless. Most dentists continue treating all patients in a similarly assuming that they all have similar pain level and will handle the procedure in the same way. Dentists should be mindful of their patient’s level of tolerance and make them aware of the entire procedure ahead of time so that they are able to handle the unexpected situations. They should take time to ensure that the patient feels comfortable at every step. Use of medications and wide array of techniques can help patients eliminate pain and anxiety and making dental visits a pleasant experi...
Many people are anxious about going to the dentist. Their fear is so severe that they would rather bear the pain than opting for dental treatment. This fear and phobia of dentists are not new but today, because of improvement in technology, skill, and training, dental procedures can be performed with minimal pain.
There is a very high prevalence of these disorders in both dental hygienists and dentists. It is not centered on dental hygienists alone. Some other musculoskeletal disorders experienced are tendonitis, neuropathy, and tension neck syndrome and trapezius myalgia. MSD pain and neuropathy in hygienists alone ranges from 60% to 96%. These disorders arise from certain issues in positioning as well as heavy workloads and exertion in awkward postures. The most affected muscle tends to be the Trapezius because that’s where most of the work load is centered when working on patients (Morse et al, 2007). When working on the maxillary arch, it is the most difficult to position one in a successful ergonomic position. It causes the hygienist to lean and stretch forward. One of the biggest causative factors for bad positioning involves the misuse of the operator chair. If the operator is sat too high it can cause falls, if it is too low it can cause slouching as well as knee or back pain. Another causative factor in these disorders is not having the patient work with the hygienist. The patient can also move their heads in any direction unless they have neck or shoulder issues or are impaired (Valachi, 2012). In the article, Local anesthetic Syringe Ergonomics and Student Preferences, the authors stated “It has been hypothesized that dentists and dental hygienists have heightened risks for wrist deviations
The good news is poor posture can be easily corrected, which will redirect the forces applied to the intervertebral disc. The bad news is a lot of people have poor posture.
Dentistry appealed to me because of its essential role in medical conditions that contribute to the overall health. While each day presents its own set of unique challenges, the need to provide pain relief is critical. Additionally, the myriad of dental procedures
Musculoskeletal problems are conditions that affect the bones, joints and muscles resulting in pain, inability to move the body or stiffness, swelling etc. Musculoskeletal problems affect different parts of the body which include the neck, wrists, knees, shoulders, back, waist etc. The nursing care involves handling of patients and giving adequate or complete care. In nursing care of patients, some techniques are involved which include lifting, moving or repositioning of patients. Continuous use of these techniques most times affect the body resulting in pains and body aches. In order to prevent these musculoskeletal problems, nurses should make use of lifting devices instead of
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Palmer, C. (2013, September 16). American Dental Association. Retrieved January 28, 2014, from ADA: http://www.ada.org/news/8898.aspx
Hoy, D., Brooks, P., Blyth, F., & Buchbinder, R. (2010). The Epidemiology of low back pain. Best Practice and Research Clinical Rheumatology, 24, 769-781. http://dx.doi:10.1016/j.berh.2010.10.002
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