Musculoskeletal Disorders Among Orthodontists: Risk Factors and Ergonomic Intervention

摘要

Musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) prevalence was highest among the orthodontists and oral physicians compared to the general population working in different environments. This study aims to explore ergonomic issues in the orthodontic workplace in small to medium-scale dental clinics in Metro Manila. Assessments were made on the physical workstation set-up of the orthodontic clinic - the design, equipment, tools/instruments, environmental hazards, and the manner in which the workers perform their tasks. The Cornell Musculoskeletal Discomfort Questionnaire (CMDQ) and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Generic Job Stress Questionnaire were used to gather critical information about MSDs. Anthropometric measurements were taken and used in the Rapid Entire Body Assessment (REB A) to determine the most risky orthodontic tasks. It was found that all orthodontists reported body pains and the highest occurrence had been in the neck (87%), lower back (87%), shoulders (83%), upper back (80%), and forearms (77%). The factors significantly associated with the discomfort scores were age, weekly working hours, workload, and posture. Among the tasks most commonly performed, tooth extraction puts the orthodontists at the highest risk of developing MSDs. To reduce the prevalence of MSDs symptoms among Filipino orthodontists, some of the ergonomic interventions are (1) designing ergonomic workstations to better fit the population, (2) employing certain administrative controls and (3) modifying how tasks are performed.