Aim: The present research was conducted to identify site-specific pain resulting from musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) among practicing dentists and determine its impact on their quality of life.
Setting and Design: A cross-sectional questionnaire study conducted among practicing dentists of Puducherry Taluk, Puducherry, India.
Method and Materials: A closed-ended, self-administered questionnaire was distributed to 95 practicing dentists to identify site-specific MSP from the study subjects. Data on pain due to MSDs, frequency of pain, its impact on quality of life, relieving factors, patients attended per day, working hours per day, and awareness on ergonomics were also recorded.
Statistical Analyses: The data were analyzed for descriptive statistics, and Chi-square tests was used for proportions.
Results: Almost all respondents experienced pain due to MSDs. Approximately, 11.1% "always" experienced elbow pain; 5.6% "always" experienced pain in neck and back. Approximately, 83% "sometimes" experienced pain in the back. Pain in elbow was significantly associated with gender (P = 0.036), qualification (P = 0.029), and years of practice (P = 0.032). Approximately, 36% reported having an impact on their life.
Conclusion: The magnitude of the problem is slowly shifting from "sometimes" to "always." Although small in proportion, pain due to MSDs has an impact on dental practitioners' quality of life, and elbow pain was reportedly higher in the study setting. Measures need to be implemented before MSD becomes a career limiting occupational hazard.
METHODS: Self-administered questionnaires adapted from the Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire were sent to 105 physiotherapists at three main public hospitals in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The questionnaire had 12 items that covered demographic information, areas of musculoskeletal problems and physiotherapy techniques that could contribute to work-related musculoskeletal disorders. The data obtained were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Science version 14 software.
RESULTS: The overall prevalence of work-related injuries during the past 12 months was 71.6%. Female therapists reported a significantly higher prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal disorders than the male therapists (73.0%, p,0.001). Significant differences were observed between the proportion of therapists who had work-related musculoskeletal disorders and those who did not for the group with a body mass index (BMI) .25 (x² = 9.0, p = 0.003) and the group with a BMI of 18-25 (x² = 7.8, p = 0.006). Manual therapy (58.6%) and lifting/transfer tasks (41.3%) were the two physiotherapy techniques that most often contributed to work-related musculoskeletal disorders.
CONCLUSION: Work-related injuries are significantly higher among the physiotherapists in Malaysia compared with many other countries. Female therapists reported a higher incidence of work-related musculoskeletal disorders in this study, and work-related musculoskeletal disorders were more common among therapists working in the pediatric specialty. This study contributes to the understanding of work-related disorders among physiotherapists from a southeast Asian perspective where the profession is in its development stage.
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHOD: Data were obtained from the published biomedical literature as well as abstracts and posters presented at scientific meetings. Using MEDLINE, EMBASE and BIOSIS databases (to July 2007), epidemiological studies were identified using the search terms: 'human', 'vitamin D', 'vitamin D deficiency', 'vitamin D inadequacy', 'vitamin D insufficiency' and 'hypovitaminosis D', 'osteomalacia' and 'osteoporosis'. Additional references were also identified from the bibliographies of published articles.
RESULTS: The prevalence of vitamin D inadequacy in studies of postmenopausal women (ambulatory or with osteoporosis or related musculoskeletal disorders) in Eastern Asia ranged from 0 to 92%, depending on the cut-off level of serum 25-hydroxycholecalciferol [25(OH)D] that was applied (range < or =6-35 ng/mL [< or = 15-87 nmol/L]). One large international study found that 71% of postmenopausal women with osteoporosis in Eastern Asia had vitamin D inadequacy, defined as serum levels of 25(OH)D < 30 ng/mL (75 nmol/L). Prevalence rates using this cut-off level were 47% in Thailand, 49% in Malaysia, 90% in Japan and 92% in South Korea. High prevalences of vitamin D inadequacy were evident in two studies using a lower 25(OH)D level cut-off value of < 12 ng/mL (30 nmol/L) - 21% in China and 57% in South Korea. Dietary deficiency and inadequate exposure or reactivity to sunlight (due to lifestyle choices, cultural customs and/or aging) were identified as important risk factors for vitamin D inadequacy.
CONCLUSIONS: Non-uniform, epidemiological studies indicate a high prevalence of vitamin D inadequacy in postmenopausal women in Eastern Asia. Recommended remedial approaches are education campaigns and broad-based provision of vitamin D supplementation.
Results: The findings showed piano players have a higher NDI, lower CVA, and RSP when compared with the non-piano players at a statistically significant level of p-value <0.05.
Objective: Playing-related musculoskeletal disorders (PRMSD) are a common problem for the pianist. The poor upper body ergonomics influences the natural positioning of the neck and shoulders, which involves forward head posture (FHP) and rounded shoulder posture (RSP). This misaligned position could produce a sensation of pain over the upper body, which affects the piano player and computer users with similar ergonomic posture. Recently, photogrammetry methods are commonly applied in a clinical setting to assess posture. The goal of this research is to compare the upper body playing-related muscu-loskeletal disorders between the piano and the non-piano players by applying photogrammetry.
Materials and Methods: This causal-comparative study includes 70 participants with 35 piano and 35 non-piano players. The participant's FHP was assessed using a digitized photo to record the Craniovertebral angle (CVA) with the support of Kinovea software. Besides, digital Vernier Calliper used to assess the scapular index on the RSP and Neck disability indices (NDI) used to measure neck pain and functional disability of the participants.
Methods: This open label comparative design study randomized health professional clinicians to receive "practice points" on tendinopathy management via Twitter or Facebook. Evaluated outcomes included knowledge change and self-reported changes to clinical practice.
Results: Four hundred and ninety-four participants were randomized to 1 of 2 groups and 317 responders analyzed. Both groups demonstrated improvements in knowledge and reported changes to clinical practice. There was no statistical difference between groups for the outcomes of knowledge change (P = .728), changes to clinical practice (P = .11) or the increased use of research information (P = .89). Practice points were shared more by the Twitter group (P
METHOD: A cross-sectional study was conducted with convenience sampling employed across five different departments. The departments were a department of medical, surgical, orthopedics, emergency and rehabilitation. The samples were selected according to a minimum of two years of clinical experience without any history of low back surgery. An instrument consists of socio-demographic background, knowledge on body mechanics and Owestry Low Back Pain Disability Index Questionnaire was used in this study.
RESULTS: A total of 139 HCPs were recruited including medical officers, staff nurses, community health nurses, assistant medical officers, physiotherapists, and assistant nurses. A self-administered questionnaire pertaining to knowledge revealed that 73.4% of HCPs had inadequate knowledge of musculoskeletal body mechanics. Among all, 90.6% (minimal: 9.4%, moderate: 43.2%, severe: 42.4%, crippled: 5.0%) of HCPs showed moderate to crippled disability using Oswestry Disability Index classifications indicating the poor practice of body mechanics while working.
CONCLUSION: The findings of this study indicate that a lack of knowledge among healthcare professionals lead to the inadequate practice of preserving musculoskeletal health while carrying out duty in caring patients. It is suggested that enforcing and emphasizing health education for healthcare professionals is urgently needed towards reducing the risk of the musculoskeletal problem among healthcare professionals.
OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to examine the relationship between specific physical and psychosocial factors and/or ergonomic conditions on MSD symptoms among dentists in Malaysia.
METHODS: A group of 85 dentists was asked to complete a questionnaire to determine whether their complaints were related to physical and psychosocial factors and/or ergonomic conditions in their practices.
RESULTS: Among the nine reviewed body areas, the shoulders were most often affected by symptoms of MSDs (92.7%). Moreover, MSDs of the neck and upper back were most likely to prevent these practitioners from engaging in normal activities (32.9%). In general, no significant differences were found in the prevalence of MSD symptoms in relation to gender, age, body mass index, years in practice, number of patients, and frequency of breaks.
CONCLUSIONS: Our results were consistent with those reported in other studies that focused on MSD problems among dentists in other countries. To reduce the prevalence of MSDs, more attention should be paid to instituting ergonomically sensible approaches in the dental practice setting.