Prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal symptoms in surgeons performing minimally invasive surgery: a review of literature

Abstract

Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WRMSDs) are a group of disorders that are caused by occupational risk factors. The introduction of minimal invasive surgical techniques has led to increased complexities in the surgical environment and practice. To find out the prevalence of WRMSDs in surgeons performing minimally invasive procedures we reviewed papers on online databases, published till 2015 and also materials available in the internet. This review shows that there is a high prevalence of WRMSDs in surgeons. The commonly areas reported were low back, neck, shoulder, wrist, hand, knee and elbow. The awareness of ergonomic practice was relatively low. Poor posture, age, gender, higher surgical volume, equipment design, OR table height, OR layout have been identified as risk factors for development of work related discomfort. In order to better understand the pathophysiological risk and injuries associated with surgery (particularly minimally invasive surgery), comprehensive objective assessment of the surgeons in the operating room setting is the need of the hour.