Dental professionals are plagued by bad backs, sore necks and aching shoulders, but there are effective ways to gain relief and prevent pain.

Seven years ago, Perth based Dental Hygienist; Rita McCabe was at the end of her tether. She had endured chronic back, neck and shoulder pain. She lost sensation in her right hand for a period of months and frequently suffered from hip pain and sciatica. Despite her passion for practicing, she was seriously considering leaving the profession.

Rita had tried traditional and complementary medical therapies in an attempt to find a cure but her problems continued to worsen. A range of seemingly untreatable musculoskeletal disorders was about to force another dental professional into early retirement.

Musculoskeletal pain is a common complaint right across the dental profession. One study found that over 87 per cent of dentists reported at least one symptom of musculoskeletal disease in the past 12 months. Another study in Greece showed that 62 per cent of dentists reported at least one musculoskeletal complaint while 30 per cent had chronic complaints.

She stumbled upon a YOGA THERAPY class. It gave her hope of pain relief and within two weeks.

After 4 years of practicing Yoga daily, Rita has decided to undertake a 2 year training program, specializing in Yoga therapy, which led to opening a Yoga school in Rockingham, Western Australia. Rita enjoys her time working as a Yoga Therapist and continues work as Dental Hygienist with correct body awareness and management.

Now Rita is determined to help her colleagues feel the benefits of Yoga as a dental practitioner.

So, what’s Yoga Therapy? Basically, it teaches posture and movement the way nature intended. The body has a specific biomechanical design but unfortunately, we don’t get a user guide when we’re born. We tend to pick up harmful posture and movement habits that we keep repeating and therefore damage our muscles, joints and spine.

“A lot of people think yoga is a little airy-fairy or non-scientific based. They believe they have to go into a huge session and mediate under a yogi. Nothing could be further from the truth. People get into yoga because of the physical benefits. Then they start to realize that it’s actually quite relaxing and provides a bit of mindfulness and stillness at the end of the day.” “Yoga can help dental professionals relax and release the strain on the body created by being in one position for extended periods of time,” Rita says.

“While a lot of strain is put on the neck, shoulders and lower back, the hands and wrists can also suffer repetitive strain injury. Specific yoga exercises can be developed depending on the area where the strain is felt. Good relaxation and deep breathing will help dissipate accumulated stress.”

Watch this video for 15 mins of Chair Yoga for Dental Professionals.