PRACTISING SPORTS AMONG DENTISTS IN BULGARIA
PRACTISING SPORTS AMONG DENTISTS IN BULGARIA
Peter Georgiev Bojinov 1a , Krassimira Borissova Yaneva-Ribagina 1b* , Yulian Emilov Borisov 2c
¹Department of Dental Public Health, Faculty of Dental Medicine, Medical University - Sofia, Sofia, Bulgaria
²DSK Bank PLC, Sofia, Bulgaria
PhD, Assistant Professor
PhD, Professor, Head of Department, Vice-Dean of Academic Affairs
c
Sociologist, Market Research Analyst
a
b
Received: May 04, 2016
Revised: May 30, 2016
Accepted: March 25, 2017
Published: April 01, 2017
Academic Editor: Jacques Vanobbergen, MDS, PhD, Professor Em., Professor and Chairman, Gent University, Gent, Belgium
Cite this article:
Bojinov PG, Yaneva-Ribagina KB, Borisov YE. Sport activity among dentists in Bulgaria. Stoma Edu J. 2017;4(2):140-145.
ABSTRACT
DOI: 10.25241/stomaeduj.2017.4(2).art.7
Introduction: Musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) are one of the main occupational risk factors for
dentists. They are associated with factors such as gender, age, length of service, lifestyle, working
ergonomic conditions, sport activity etc.
The aim of this study is to determine the spread of practicing sports among dentists in Bulgaria and
the impact of some factors (gender, length of service, weekly and daily workload, and health self-
assessment) on it.
M ethodology: The study was conducted by an anonymous survey of 1300 dentists in Bulgaria. The
response rate of the survey was 53.84% - 700 questionnaire forms were returned back. The results
are processed using statistical analyses – descriptive, graphical, alternative and Ӽ2.
Results: The results of our study reveal that a tiny fraction of dentists practiced some sport regularly
(12,63%), the most active being those having 11-20 years length of service, while males are a bit more
active than females. Practicing sports increases with the increase of the weekly and daily workload
and drops with the decrease in own health self-assessment. With the increase of pain, caused by
Work Related Musculoskeletal Disorders (WRMSD), practicing sports goes down, the most active
remaining those presenting the most recent episodes of pain (for weeks) – 85.7% and moderate
intensity.
Conclusion: A very small number of dentists practice sports regularly (12.63%). The most active is
the group of 11-20 years length of service, men being a bit more active than women. Practicing
sports drops down with the decrease in health self-assessment. Practicing sports decreases with the
pain intensity increase, the most active being those presenting the most recent episodes of pain (for
weeks) – 85.7% and moderate intensity.
Keywords: musculoskeletal disorders (MSD), sport activity, health self-assessment, daily and weekly
workload.
1. Introduction
The importance of practising sports for the general
health of each individual is beyond doubt. Even
back in the ancient world Aristotle noted „Nothing
exhausts and destroys the human body more
than continued physical inactivity“. The continued
state of good general health is a guarantee and
prerequisite for a long professional career.
Data from the study of M.D. DeCarvalho et al.
among Brazilian dental students showed that 52%
practised sports regularly – bodybuilding (20.3%)
and walking/jogging/running (16.7%). 1
Pursuant to a study conducted in Nepal by B.P
Shrestha et al. about prevalence of WRMSD among
dentists, only 16.7% asked for medical care, while
36,8% self-treated themselves with medicines,
while 30.9% had regular physical exercises as back
pain prevention. 2
Another study by S. Sunnel et al. from British
Columbia reported that 88% of dental hygienists
and 61% of the dentists tested different therapies
and approaches for relieving the WRMSD
symptoms. The strategies, providing for continued
relief were: physical exercises (13%); changing
their work habits/postures (6%); fewer work days
(6%). 3
A study by Basset dating back to 1983 among 465
Canadian dentists established that 50% exercised
as prevention of WRMSD and felt its effects. 4
A study conducted in Poland by J. Szymanska
in 2002 revealed that 64.6% of the dentists
undertook some treatment because of MSD. The
most popular methods were: physical exercises
for the back – 41.55%; morning stretch exercising –
39.27%; flexor-extensor exercises for the backbone
– 36.99%; swimming – 35.62%; abdominal muscles
*Corresponding author:
Professor Krassimira Borissova Yaneva-Ribagina, PhD, Head of Department of Dental Public Health, Vice-Dean of Academic Affairs, Faculty of Dental Medicine, Medical University - Sofia
Blvd. G. Sofia no. 1,1431 Sofia, Bulgaria, Tel/Fax: (+3592) 954 2730, e-mail: [email protected]
140
Stoma Edu J. 2017;4(2): 140-145
http://www.stomaeduj.com
exercises – 35.16%; shoulder area exercises –
31.05%; relaxing practices – 17.81%; jogging –
10.05%; fitness – 7.76%. 5
A study conducted in Yemen among dentists with
musculoskeletal disorders identified that only
16.7% asked for medical care. As to the physical
exercises in case of back pains 30.9% reported
that they practice regularly, 51.5% didn’t have any
exercising, while 17.6% did not give an answer. 6
The study by P. Dajpratham found out that key
methods of pain management were traditional
massages (51.9%), drug therapy (28.5%),
physiotherapy (15.8%), acupuncture (7.6%) and
alternative medicine (4.4%). 7
The cross-sectional study among 1808 healthcare
workers in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais State,
Brazil showed the high prevalence of WRMSD
(49.9%) and their association with many factors,
including practising sports less than twice a week. 8
A questionnaire survey about musculoskeletal
discomfort, completed by 329 employees in the
Public Dental Services of Hordaland proved that
practising sports was negatively associated with
discomfort in the lower back. 9
The aim of this study is to establish the spread of
practicing sports among dentists in Bulgaria and
the impact of some factors, such as gender, length
of service, weekly and daily workload, health self-
assessment on it.
2. Methodology
2.1. Study objectives include:
1. Outlining the spread of practicing sports among
dentists in Bulgaria.
2. Determining the dependence of practicing
sports on some socio-demographic factors (age
and gender) and factors, characterizing the
dentists’ activity (weekly, daily workload), intensity
of MSD pain as well as health self-assessment.
2.2. Study material and methods
The information needed for the purposes of the
study was gathered by distributing and collecting
filled in questionnaires between October
2012-April 2013. We developed the survey
questionnaire specifically for this study. The survey
was conducted with the support of the Bulgarian
Dental Association (BDA) and the regional bodies
in Sofia, Pleven, Shumen, Varna, and Vratza. A
total of 1300 questionnaires were prepared and
disseminated, out of which we got back 700
(return rate – 53.84%). They comprised 27 close
questions (fixed answers) on paper, each having a
unique entry code.
The age groups covered by the study are almost
equally represented, except for the 66+ age group:
25-35 age group – 163 participants (23.35%),
36-45 - 171 individuals (24.50%), the 46-55 age
group is the most numerous - 196 individuals
(28.08%), 56-65 age group - 139 (19.91%), and
the least represented age group of 66+ - only
29 (4.15%) i.e. all age groups were included. The
relative share of dentists having +20-years length
of s ervice is distinctly high (54.33%). It suggests
more representative data on the impact of dental-
Stomatology Edu Journal
specific factors, causing MSD. The major share of
dentists, participating in the study, is as follows:
general practitioners (58.03%), followed by the
group, practicing mostly conservative dentistry
(12.49%) and prosthetic dentistry (10.29%).
Comparatively lower is the share of those
practicing specific narrow specialties such as:
oral surgery (7.40%), pediatric dentistry (6.47%),
periodontology (3.12%) and the smallest share is
that of orthodontics (2.20%).
3. Results
3.1. Dependency between gender, length of
service and practicing sports
Just a small fraction of 12.63% (88 individuals)
responded to exercise regularly. The bulk group
exercises occasionally (not regularly) – 52.80%
(368), while another large group does not exercise
at all – 34.57% (Fig. 1).
Figure 1. Practicing sports among dentists.
DENTAL PUBLIC HEALTH
We explored the relationship between gender and
practicing sports (Fig.2).
Most of the respondents reported to go practising,
but not on daily basis.
Generally practicing sports among males is
higher compared to females. 14.69% of the male
respondents exercised every day, while 57.96% -
occasionally.
11.46% of all female respondents practiced on a
daily basis, and 50.34% - occasionally.
Figure 2. Gender relevant practicing sports breakdown.
The results indicate statistically significant
dependency between practicing sports and
gender. We also focused on length of service
impact on practicing sports (Table 1).
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