title: A meta analysis of the prevalence of spinal pain among dentists.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Physical exertion among dentists seems to put them at increased risk for the occurrence of spinal pain.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To assess the prevalence of spinal pain among dentists by performing a systematic review and meta-analysis.
  
  
  METHODS
  A systematic-literature search was conducted on prevalence of spinal pain among dentists. The databases searched were CINAHL, MEDLINE, Science Direct, CENTRAL (The Cochrane Library), ProQuest: Science Journals, and PsyclNFO. A standardised data extraction form was used to extract data. Prevalence proportions were pooled by meta-analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The search yielded 936 studies. Eight articles met the inclusion criteria. The meta-analysis yielded a combined prevalence of 53.90% (95% Cl: 41.96 to 65.84%) for thoracic-lumbar pain, 41.23% (95% CI: 27.52 to 54.93%) for lower back pain and 41.39% (95% CI: 27.81 to 54.98%) for neck pain. There was, however, a considerable heterogeneity between studies.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Ergonomic interventions including exercise and therapeutically based preventative measures may have an impact on reducing high prevalence of spinal pain.
authors.affiliation: Department of Interdisciplinary Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University Faculty of Health Sciences, South Africa. umec@sun.ac.za
authors.forename: U M E
authors.initials: UM
authors.lastname: Chikte
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Khondowe
authors.forename: Q
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Louw
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Musekiwa
mesh_terms: D001416:Back Pain / Q000453:epidemiology*; D003815:Dentists / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014943:Global Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D017116:Low Back Pain / Q000453:epidemiology; D019547:Neck Pain / Q000453:epidemiology; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015995:Prevalence