Observational Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2022. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
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
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.