An investigation of the influencing factors for neck and shoulder pain among dentists in several grade A tertiary hospitals in Tianjin, China

Abstract

Objective To investigate the incidence of neck and shoulder pain among dentists in several hospitals in Tianjin, China and the main factors for the onset of neck and shoulder pain, and to provide ideas for reducing the incidence rate of neck and shoulder pain in dentists. Methods In December 2018, a total of 140 dentists from General Hospital of Tianjin Medical University, The Second Hospital of Tianjin Medical University, and Tianjin Stomatological Hospital were selected as respondents. A self-designed questionnaire was used to investigate the incidence rate of neck and shoulder pain among the dentists and related influencing factors. A total of 140 questionnaires were distributed, among which 129 (96.9%) were usable questionnaires. The questionnaire contained the questions on personal information and conditions of neck and shoulder pain. The continuous data were expressed as Mean±SD, and the categorical data were expressed as percentage (%) . The multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to investigate influencing factors. Results Among the 129 respondents, 120 (93.02%) had neck and shoulder pain. The prevalence rates of neck pain alone, shoulder pain alone, and neck and shoulder pain were 34.9% (45/129) , 31.8% (41/129) , and 26.3% (34/129) , respectively. Certain factors, such as age, sex, exercise, working time, bad sitting posture, inappropriate seat, and engagement in periodontology or orthodontics, had a linear relationship with the incidence rate of neck and shoulder pain among the respondents (P<0.05) . Conclusion There is a high incidence rate of neck and shoulder pain among the dentists in some hospitals in Tianjin. Dentists should be encouraged to control the number of consultations, adjust the sitting posture during work, arrange working hours reasonably, and strengthen physical exercise, so as to reduce the incidence rate of neck and shoulder pain. Key words: Doctor; Neck and shoulder pain; Dentistry; Risk factors