JOSÉ ANTONIO GARCÍA VIDAL¹, MANUEL LÓPEZ NICOLÁS², ANA CRISTINA SÁNCHEZ SOBRADO³, MARIA PILAR ESCOLAR REINA¹, FRANCISCO MEDINA MIRAPEIX¹, Roberto Bernabeu Mora¹

(1) FISIOTERAPIA Y DISCAPACIDAD, IMIB, España
(2) DEPARTAMENTO DE ESTOMATOLOGÍA, 30008, España (Región de Murcia)
(3) ODONTOLOGA, 30008, España (Región de Murcia)

PMID: 31443308
Referencia: García-Vidal JA, López-Nicolás M, Sánchez-Sobrado AC, Escolar-Reina MP,Medina-Mirapeix F, Bernabeu-Mora R. The Combination of Different ErgonomicSupports during Dental Procedures Reduces the Muscle Activity of the Neck andShoulder. J Clin Med. 2019 Aug 15;8(8). pii: E1230. doi: 10.3390/jcm8081230.PubMed PMID: 31443308; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6723175.
ISSN: 2077-0383
Revista: Journal of Clinical Medicine
Factor de impacto (2017): 3.9
Cuartil: 2

According to earlier studies, over 60% of dentists experience different types of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) during their professional life, of these, the most prevalent pain regions are the neck, shoulder and back. The development of these MSDs may be related to strained posture, prolonged and repetitive movements, unhealthy postures and high levels of muscle activity. Many ergonomic and preventive strategies have been recommended to avoid these common MSDs, such as: reducing work time and fatigue; limiting the workspace; alternating between standing and sitting time; working with dental assistants; increasing physical activity and stretching; and the use of different ergonomic supports, such as the ergonomic stool and magnification lenses.

This study sought to evaluate the efficacy of different ergonomic supports and their combination to reduce muscle activity of the neck and shoulder muscles. A one-way repeated measures design was used to evaluate 36 practicing dentists while they performed three posterior composite restoration procedures on a phantom head. Portable surface electromyography (sEMG) recordings were used to measure the muscle activity of three muscles (Upper Trapezius, Lateral Deltoid and Anterior Deltoid) in the dominant upper extremity, with and without the use of different ergonomic supports (ergonomic stool, magnification lenses and both) during the performance of these tasks. A repeated measures analysis of variance was used. The muscle activity of all muscles differed significantly across the four ergonomic conditions during the three tasks.

The use of ergonomic supports such as the magnification lenses, the ergonomic stool or the combination of both is effective for decreasing the muscle activity of the UT, AD and LD during the three tasks performed during posterior composite restoration, compared to standard practice with the conventional stool. In addition, we determined that the decrease of muscle activity is higher using magnification lenses compared to using the ergonomic stool, and the greatest decrease occurs when both are combined.

The use of a magnification lenses is effective for decreasing the muscle activity of all the muscles studied, the use of the ergonomic stool alone reduced the muscle activity of the UT, while yielding a disparate pattern in the AD and LD muscle groups. The best results were obtained with the combination of both ergonomic supports, producing a highly significant reduction in the muscle activity of all muscles compared with the isolated use of these supports.