Back Care Awareness Week; How are you managing the strain?

It’s Back Care Awareness Week (3-7 October) – an annual awareness campaign run by the Backcare charity to focus on helping to avoid preventable back injury. For dental professionals, in a high-risk profession for musculoskeletal injuries, this is a great opportunity to remind yourself how to manage and prevent back pain.

Lower back pain affects people of all ages and is a leading contributor to disease burden worldwide¹ and figures from NHS England show back pain is the largest single cause of disability in the UK².

There are many areas of the musculoskeletal system from which dental professionals could suffer with pain or injury, but backs, necks and shoulders are the most common. Dentists are at high risk for neck and back pain with data showing 70% of dental professionals reporting incidences of back pain³ and a study of French dentists showing this rising to nearly 80%⁴.

Many dental professionals spend most of their workdays in static, awkward positions, with high work pressures and not much time for breaks. A study conducted by Cinar-Medini showed that over half of health professionals, including dentists, with back pain had incorrect working postures⁵.

Static postures put a greater strain on your body than dynamic postures, requiring you to contract more than 50% of your muscles just to maintain your position⁶. Relying on static postures could lead to muscle imbalances that can perpetuate, as the more pain you experience to correct these imbalances the less you are likely to be able to do so. Also, the way you move as a dental professional can mean overarching the lumbar spine, potentially leading to postural imbalances, mal-coordination and inevitably pain.

What the claims show

At Dentists’ Provident, almost a quarter (24%) of sickness claims in 2021 were due to musculoskeletal disorders. In 2021 we paid out £387K to new claimants due to musculoskeletal disorders – half of the benefits paid were back pain related.

We have received claims from dentists as young as their 20s and 30s who have had to take months off work due to issues with their lower back. Some have been unable to practice for years because of lower back pain and repeated musculoskeletal issues.

“Back pain continues to be a common issue for our members who lose their capacity to work. Like many other health conditions, the earlier you can identify the issue and find way to manage it the better. Our claims experience shows that failure to seek treatment for persistent symptoms can often lead to a stage where it becomes a chronic or recurrent condition,” says Paul Roberts, Head of Claims at Dentists’ Provident. 

Back care prevention

Journal articles and studies mention an array of steps that all dental professionals can take to prevent, reduce the chance of, and improve musculoskeletal pain and stress. Some of these include; stress and relaxation exercises, aerobic exercises, rest, correct posture and resistance training⁷.

Last year Dentists’ Provident produced a factsheet with tips to manage back pain, which is also sent to support members with musculoskeletal problems.

Tips include treatment and preventive care plans, but also has a focus on workplace adjustments that you can make in your surgery or clinic to the ergonomic design of your working area, ensuring your do less reaching and stretching.

This includes considering the type of chairs used by both patients and for you as a professional, as well as equipment such as loups. Loups are well known as a method of supporting you in maintaining good posture and preventing twisting and bending, as they allow you to look from a natural distance rather than having to bend down - but make sure their weight and magnification is right for you.

The factsheet also has a range of tips on creating a personal care plan to keep fit, flexible and mobile.

Whatever stage you are at in your career now, take the time to think about whether you have a preventive approach to your physical health and wellbeing, and that you try to spot early signs of discomfort or pain. If you look after yourself and protect what is important now, you could be set for a long, fulfilling and pain-free career.

To find out more about the Back Care Awareness week campaign running from 3-7 October, visit www.backcare.org.uk.

To download the members’ factsheet from Dentists’ Provident about ‘Managing back pain’, visit www.dentistsprovident.co.uk/member-benefits/

References

1. https://www.thelancet.com/clinical/diseases/back-pain#:~:text=Non%2Dspecific%20low%20back%20pain,not%20possible%20in%20most%20cases
2. https://www.england.nhs.uk/blog/charles-greenough/
3. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4616098/
4. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00586-019-06080-4
5. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27858698/
6. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41406-020-0122-1
   
7. https://dentistry.co.uk/2017/03/14/reduce-musculoskeletal-pain-dentists/