Volume 24, Issue 104, July - August, 2020

Prevalence and Characterization of Musculoskeletal Disorders among Dental Students, Interns, and Residents in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Abdulmajeed Alrumi^1♦, Abdullah Alsheraimi¹, Saleh Alassaf¹, Abdulmajeed Alharbi¹, Abdulrahman Alenezi¹, Abdullah Almajed¹, Nawaf Alshetan¹, Khaled Alomairiy¹, Rima Safadi⁴, Ali Aboalela^1,2,3

¹College of Dentistry, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
²King Abdullah International Medical Research Centre, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
³National Guard Health Affairs, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
⁴Jordan University of Science and Technology, Jordan

^♦Corresponding author
Abdulmajeed Abdulaziz Alrumi; College of Dentistry, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, E-mail: abdulmajeedalrumi@hotmail.com

ABSTRACT

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal disorders, assess its impact, identify its risk factors, level of awareness of the participants, and to recommend preventive measures based on the study results. Methods: A self-structured self-administered questionnaire consists of 48 questions was distributed to participants from dental colleges at three universities (King Saud University, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for health sciences, and Riyadh Elm university). A total of (431) participants were invited to answer the questionnaire. Chi-Squared test was performed to evaluate the influence of demographic characteristics (gender and level of education), the prevalence of musculoskeletal pain, and psychological impact. Results: There was a significant difference between genders regarding pain, in which (53%) of females reported having pain, while only (35%) of males did. Periodontal scaling was the most reported cause of pain (51.8%). The psychological effect of pain was significantly higher in females (25%), while it was (12%) in males. Chairside stretching has a significant impact on reducing the presence of pain. Conclusion: The prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal disorders in the dental field is high. In this study, females have a higher percentage of pain. Pain has a negative effect on a person’s psychology. The use of magnification loupes and chairside stretching was found to be a protective factor against musculoskeletal disorders.

Keywords: Musculoskeletal disorders, Work-related pain, and Dental students

Medical Science, 2020, 24(104), 2565-2572

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