WORK RELATED MUSCULOSKELETAL NECK PAIN: A NEGLECTED OCCUPATIONAL DISEASE AMONG DENTISTS IN PESHAWAR, PAKISTAN

Objective:To determine the frequency and risk factors of work-related neck pain among dentists working in Public sector Hospitals in Peshawar, Pakistan.Materials and Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted in Khyber College of Density, Lady Reading Hospital and Hayatabad Medical Complex, Peshawar, Pakistan from 23rd September 2018 to23rd February 2019. A total of 150 dentists who were working in public sector hospitals and were willing to participate were included in the study by convenience sampling. The Standardized Nordic Questionnaire (SNQ) was used for data collection. Data was analyzed with SPSS, version 23.Results:The total number of participants in our study were 150. Males were 105(70%) and females were 45(30%).The mean age was 31.4200± 6.1 years. Majority(72.7%,n=109) of dentists were reported to have work related musculoskeletal pain while 41(27.3%) dentists had no such complaints. The commonly affected dentists were trainee medical officers(61.3%,n=92).The frequency of neck pain was more common among dentists who examined more than 15 patients per day(49.3%,74%) and worked 6 days per week(64%,n=96).Dentists performing root canal treatment(70.7%,n=106) were more prone to have neck pain than others.Conclusion:The frequency of musculoskeletal neck pain among the dentists was high. The risk factors were prolong working hours, examining more patients and prolong dental procedures.