Prevalence of postural musculoskeletal symptoms among dental students in United Arab Emirates

BACKGROUND: The purpose of the present study was to determine the prevalence of neck, shoulder, and low-back pain and to examine factors associated with musculoskeletal pain (MSP) among dental students at Ajman University and Ras Al Khaimah College of Dental Sciences in United Arab Emirates (UAE). METHOD: A cross-sectional study was conducted among dental students using an online questionnaire, which was a modified version of the Standardized Nordic questionnaire, focused on neck, shoulder and low-back pain in the past week and the past year. RESULTS: A total of two hundred and two dental students (out of 368) responded to the questionnaire. The majority were female 75.2%. The prevalence of MSP in at least one body site in the past week, and in the past year was 48.5 and 68.3% respectively. The factors significantly associated with MSP in at least one body site at any time were having history of trauma (P = 0.009), lack of exercise (P = 0.001), longer clinical sessions (P = 0.000), and higher BMI (P = 0.010). CONCLUSION: The present study indicates that the prevalence of MSP among dental students in the UAE is high. Careful attention from dental colleges is needed to increase students’ awareness of this problem. This study contributed to better understanding of MSP among dental professionals. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12891-020-03887-x.