Introduction: High prevalence of neck pain has become an important health complain among dental practitioners which is followed by reduced working performance, burnout and early retirement. The purpose of this study is to assess the relationship between individual and occupational risk factors as well as forward head posture (FHP) with dentist’s neck pain and to determine the priority of these factors in the development of the neck pain.Material and Methods: In this cross - sectional study, 70 dentists of two dental centers in Tehran were examined with clinical testing of FHP. Individual and job characteristics were collected by means of a questionnaire. The visual analog scale (VAS) was applied in order to determine the severity of pain in various parts of the body. Spearman and Pearson correlation coefficient and multiple linear regressions were used to examine the relationship and effect of the studied variables in creating the neck pain.Results: According to the results, neck was the most painful part of the body (66.6%). Indeed, 40 (57.1%) of participating dentists were suffering from the forward head posture. The results of the multiple linear regression showed that the FHP with the standard coefficient (b=0.64) was the most influential factor in predicting the incidence of neck pain.Conclusion: The FHP has a greater impact than any other individual and job factors in creating neck pain. It may be concluded that awkward neck posture is the most important risk factor for neck pain in static sitting jobs such as dentistry.

Background and purpose: Chronic neck pain is one of the most common musculoskeletal problems. Generally, around 67% of adults will experience neck pain some time during their life. The aim of this study was to investigate the changes of neck muscles myoelectric activity in patients with chronic neck pain during flexion-extension movement.Materials and methods: This case-control study was conducted on 43 participants, that is, twenty two patients (23±1.8 years) with chronic neck pain history who were matched against twenty one healthy people (23±2.6 years) with no history of neck pain. They had to accomplish 5 trials of a cervical flexion and extension in sitting position. The electromyoghraphic (EMG) activities of cervical paraspinal and trapezius muscles were bilaterally recorded. To study the difference in muscle strength and range of motion (ROM) between the two groups, cervical ROM and maximum voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC) were also recorded. Data were analyzed using independent t-test and correlation coefficients (ICC).Results: Results of the study showed that EMG activity of cervical erector spine muscles was significantly higher in the patients with chronic neck pain in the first static phase and full flexion one (P£0.05). However, no significant differences were observed in activity of these muscles in flexion and extension phases (P³0.05). Moreover, there was no significant difference in the EMG activities of trapezius muscles between the two groups (P³0.05). The MVIC of cervical paraspinal was significantly higher in the healthy group (P<0.05), whereas the full flexion range of motion was not statistically significant between the two groups (P>0.05).Conclusion: Based in the results of the present study it is likely that pain has changed myoelectric activity of cervical muscles. Apparently, the neck extensor muscles should work with more intensity to maintain better control force in the patients with neck pain.

Background and Aim: Epidemiologic data of LBP and NSP are sparse from developing countries for example Iran. This prospective cohort study was conducted with 1 year follow - up to assess incidence and recurrence of disabling low back (LBP) and neck-shoulder pain (NSP) in Iran khodro industrial group .and to investigate the association with sex and job title during follow- up.Methods: All employees (18.031) were invited to participate in a baseline survey Nordic questionnaire and followed for 1 year regarding new episodes of sickness absence due to LBP or NSP (disabling pain).Results: The 1- year incidence LBP was 2.1% and of NSP 0.1%, although the prevalence of LBP in females was higher than in males. The incidence disabling LBP were higher in males. Both prevalence and incidence of disabling LBP were high in unskilled workers. For NSP managers had the highest reported prevalence, but incident cases happened only among office workers and unskilled workers.Conclusion: The incidence, especially for NSP is much lower than from developed countries. To study prevalence, incidence and recurrence of LBP and NSP simultaneously leads to a better understanding of the natural pattern and distribution of LBP and NSP in a working population.

Myofascial pain syndrome (MPS) is one of the most prevalent and significant health problems which causes diminished function and impaired quality of life. Myofascial pains are caused by myofascial trigger points which are characterized by discrete hyper contracted and sensitive foci within muscles and/or connective tissues. Clinical manifestations of these trigger points in the head and neck region present as headache, neck pain and temporomandibular dysfunction.MPS treatment is challenging, multidisciplinary, and still lacks a clear remedy. Different treatment options include physical therapy, medications, trigger point injection, acupuncture, chiropractic management, transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation, and laser therapy. Laser is an effective modality in treating many acute and chronic musculoskeletal syndromes, it improves local microcirculation, oxygen supply, removes waste products, and increases mediators of pain inhibition. The advantages of laser, like, non-invasiveness, ease, short-term applications and fewer side effects make it favorite among clinicians.Numerous researches have been conducted to evaluate the efficacy of laser therapy for treatment of MPS. Different laser wavelengths, intensities, densities, dosages, and treatment intervals have been used in various animal and human studies. Laser therapy seems to be effective in pain relief, improvement of function and quality of life in patients with MPS and could be used as one of the treatment modalities.