Impact of Barre Stretching Among Dental Hygiene Students

The healthcare profession of dental hygiene can be a highly stressful academic path and occupation. Physical stressors can quickly lead to postural disturbances and musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) due to instrument grasping while under muscle tension, working with vibrating instruments, and performing repetitive micromovements. Chronic, high stress levels have the potential to lead to burnout, fatigue, and other health problems, which can impact a student's ability to perform well in their clinical rotations and didactic studies and may translate into their workforce experiences after graduation. The purpose of this study is to determine whether a relationship exists between Barre stretching and reported stress and pain levels among entry-level dental hygiene students. This study will be a 6-week experimental randomized control trial (RCT) where participants will be assigned to a 15-minute Barre stretching and breathing video two times a week for the experimental group or control group. The continuous dependent variables in this study will be the reported stress levels and reported pain levels of the entry-level dental hygiene students. The independent variable will be the Barre stretching intervention. The participants will include students at two universities enrolled in an entry-level dental hygiene program as first-year students. Baseline data collection for each participant will be obtained, and the study will be analyzed using descriptive statistics, a paired t-test and independent t-test. The statistical significance level will be set at p=0.05.