Alqahtani SM, Alzahrani MM, Bicknell R, Pichora D. Prevalence and factors of work-related musculoskeletal disorders among hand surgeons. World J Orthop 2022; 13(5): 465-471 [PMID: 35633751 DOI: 10.5312/wjo.v13.i5.465]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Mohammad M Alzahrani, FRCS, MBBS, MSc, Assistant Professor, Department of Orthopaedics, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, King Faisal Road, Dammam 34212, Saudi Arabia. mmalzahrani@iau.edu.sa
Research Domain of This Article
Orthopedics
Article-Type of This Article
Observational Study
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Orthop. May 18, 2022; 13(5): 465-471 Published online May 18, 2022. doi: 10.5312/wjo.v13.i5.465
Prevalence and factors of work-related musculoskeletal disorders among hand surgeons
Saad M Alqahtani, Mohammad M Alzahrani, Ryan Bicknell, David Pichora
Saad M Alqahtani, Mohammad M Alzahrani, Department of Orthopaedics, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam 34212, Saudi Arabia
Ryan Bicknell, David Pichora, Department of Orthopaedics, Queens University, Kingston K7L 3N6, Ontario, Canada
Author contributions: Alqahtani SM and Alzahrani MM contributed to the concept, design, study execution, manuscript writing and review; Bicknell R and Pichora D contributed to the concept, design, manuscript writing and review.
Institutional review board statement: Not applicable as this was a survey.
Informed consent statement: Not applicable as this was a survey.
Conflict-of-interest statement: None conflict of interest pertaining to current study.
Data sharing statement: No additional data are available.
STROBE statement: The authors have read the STROBE Statement - checklist of items, and the manuscript was checked according to the STROBE Statement - checklist of items.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Mohammad M Alzahrani, FRCS, MBBS, MSc, Assistant Professor, Department of Orthopaedics, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, King Faisal Road, Dammam 34212, Saudi Arabia. mmalzahrani@iau.edu.sa
Received: August 1, 2021 Peer-review started: August 1, 2021 First decision: November 11, 2021 Revised: November 12, 2021 Accepted: April 24, 2022 Article in press: April 24, 2022 Published online: May 18, 2022 Processing time: 284 Days and 12.9 Hours
ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS
Research background
Common tasks required by hand surgeons need both forceful and repetitive maneuvers, which can subject these surgeons to the risk of musculoskeletal injuries during their years in practice.
Research motivation
These injuries can place a physical and psychological burden on the surgeon, which can in turn affect the healthcare system. Therefore, attention should be directed at studying their prevalence and associated factors.
Research objectives
The objective of the study was to assess the prevalence, characteristics and impact of musculoskeletal disorders among hand surgeons.
Research methods
A modified version of the physical discomfort survey was sent to surgeons who were members of the American Society for Surgery of the Hand 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.
Research results
Of the 578 respondents, 60.4% reported that they had sustained a work-related musculoskeletal injury, of which the most common diagnoses were lateral elbow epicondylitis, low back pain and carpal tunnel syndrome.
Research conclusions
We have shown a high prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders among hand surgeons, with more than half of the surveyed surgeons reporting a sustained injury.
Research perspectives
These results should increase awareness on this aspect and fuel future studies directed at preventing these types of work-related injuries, thus minimizing the financial and psychological burden on these surgeons and the healthcare system.
