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Kinematic analysis of work-related musculoskeletal loading of trunk among dentists in Germany
(2017)
BACKGROUND: In Germany, about 86.7 % of the dentists have stated to suffer from pain in the neck and shoulder region. These findings are predominantly based on surveys. Therefore the objective of this study is to conduct a kinematic analysis of occupational posture in dentistry.
METHODS: Twenty one dentists (11 f/10 m; age: 40.1 ± 10.4 years) have participated in this examination. The CUELA-System was used to collect kinematic data of the activities on an average dental workday. A detailed, computer-based task analysis took place parallel to the kinematic examination. Through the synchronization of data collected from both measurements, patterns of posture were arranged chronologically and in conjunction with the tasks performed: (I) "treatment" (II) "office" and (III) "other activities". For the data analysis, characteristic data of joint angular distributions (percentiles P05, P25, P50, P75 and P95) of head, neck and torso at pre-defined tasks were examined and assessed corresponding to ergonomic standards.
RESULTS: Forty one percent of tasks executed on an average dental workday can be categorized as the treatment of patients. These tasked are most frequently performed in "straight back" positions (78.7 %), whereas 20.1 % were carried out in a "twisted or inclined" torso posture, 1.1 % "bowed" and only 0.1 % "bowed and twisted/inclined to the side" upper body position. In particular, it can be observed that in the area of the cervical and thoracic spine the 75th and 95th percentile show worse angular values during treatment than during non-dental tasks. For the period of treatment (at a standardized dental chair construction), a seated position with a strong inclination of the thoracic spine to the right while the lumbar spine is inclined towards the left is adopted.
CONCLUSION: The kinematic analysis of dentists illustrates typical patterns of postures during tasks that are essential to the dental treatment of patients. The postures in the area of the cervical and thoracic spine have higher angular values during treatment compared to other dental tasks. Consistently, appropriate ergonomic design measures to optimize the dental chair and equipment as well as integrated training in ergonomics as part of the study of dentistry to prevent musculoskeletal are recommended.
Background: This study aims at identifying orthodontic activities with the highest frequency of unfavorable/awkward and static postures held over a period of more than 4 s based on kinematic analysis. Moreover, a separate analysis of static postures for orthodontic and non-orthodontic activities serves to evaluate the duration for which these particular postures are assumed.
Methods: In total, 21 (13f/8 m) orthodontists (age: 31.5 ± 3.8 years) participated in this study. CUELA, a personal measurement system, was used to collect kinematic data for all orthodontic activities in a working day. Angle values of the head and torso were evaluated in accordance with ergonomic standards. Only those postures that were held statically for 4 s and longer were selected for further analysis. Alongside the kinematic analysis, the activities performed on-site were also subject to a detailed computerized analysis. The synchronization of data collected from both measurements arranges the patterns of posture found chronologically and in conjunction with the orthodontic activities performed ((I) "treatment" (II) "office" and (III) "other activities").
Results: For (I) we observed an anterior inclination of the head and torso area as well as a twist of the head and neck area to the right. We found anterior back inclination and lateral back torsion to the right for (II) and (III). If, furthermore, we differentiate the duration of static postures, there are primarily short to medium-term (4–30s) static postures identified for (I). Also, categories (II) and (III) predominantly demonstrate static back postures with a duration of up to 30 s. With regard to (II) we observed that the back is ventrally inclined for 10.1% of the total activity duration.
Conclusions: During treatment static strains are observed in the entire head and torso area. On the contrary, static postures prevalent in the torso area are essential for activities of the other categories, particularly office work. These findings allow for a careful selection of unfavorable and static postures for each of the activities performed and help to develop specific preventive measures.