Work-related musculoskeletal injuries among upper extremity surgeons: A web-based survey

BACKGROUND: Work-related injuries have gained recent attention, especially in the orthopaedic literature. As upper extremity orthopaedic surgical tasks require repetitive and constant maneuvers, these surgeons can be at increased risk of acquiring work-related musculoskeletal (MSK) disorders during their years in practice. AIM: To assess the prevalence, characteristics and impact of MSK disorders among upper extremity orthopaedic surgeons. METHODS: A modified version of the physical discomfort survey was sent to surgeons who were members of the American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons and the Canadian shoulder and elbow society via e-mail. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, one-way analysis of variance, and Fisher's exact test. P values of < 0.05 were considered statistically significant. RESULTS: Of the 142 respondents, 90.8% were males and the majority were younger than 55 years old (65.5%). A work-related MSK injury was reported by 89.4% of respondents, of which the most common diagnoses were low back pain (26.1%) and lateral elbow epicondylitis (18.3%). Among those that reported an injury, 82.7% required treatment and 26% required time off work as a direct result of their injury. The need to undergo treatment due to the injury was associated with increased number of injuries (P < 0.01). Moreover, surgeons were more likely to require time off work when they had been in practice for > 21 years (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: A high proportion of surgeons in our survey reported MSK injuries, with more than one quarter of surgeons reported requiring time off work due to an MSK injury. The high incidence of these disorders may place a financial and psychological burden on surgeons and affect their ability to provide patient care. Awareness of operative ergonomics, irrespective of surgical specialty may help to decrease or possibly prevent the occurrence of these disorders.