Ergonomic interventions and their impact on the dental profession
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.35954/SM2022.41.2.5.e403Keywords:
musculoskeletal disorders, ergonomics, ergonomic interventions, posture, dentistryAbstract
Introduction: musculoskeletal disorders have a high prevalence in the general population and in particular, in the health area, dental professionals represent a highly vulnerable population, due to the particular characteristics of the practice of their profession. The study of different ergonomic interventions and the impact they can have on the reduction of muscular symptomatology and on the development and/or perpetuation of these dysfunctional conditions is growing.
Method: a narrative review was carried out between April 2022 and August 2022. Databases such as MedLine/PubMed and Scielo were consulted, including articles published in the last ten years.
Results: a total of 71 articles were obtained, of which 30 were excluded, resulting in 41 articles included in this qualitative synthesis.
Conclusions: ergonomic interventions are basically aimed at changes in the working environments of professionals and/or the implementation of programs aimed at instructing and making professionals aware of ergonomic criteria for their incorporation in their work performance. Both interventionist approaches have been evaluated with validated self-perception tools, clinical examinations and instrumental evaluations. Strategies that focus the problem in the workplace and those that include education and training in ergonomics reduce the impact of musculoskeletal disorders in this population. The latter have the potential to provoke changes in the habits of professionals, with behaviors that are maintained in the medium term.
Received for review: September 2022.
Accepted for publication: October 2022.
Correspondence: Escuela Militar. Ruta 6 Km 22.500. Toledo, Canelones. Tel.: (+598) 2296 9812 / 2296 9911 / 2296 9791.
E-mail contact: nachofernandez81@gmail.com
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