Surgeons’ awareness about ergonomics in the operation theatre

Background: Musculoskeletal symptoms are common among surgeons who work in an environment that is not ergonomically ideal. Objective: To determine the surgeons’ awareness of ergonomics in the operation theatre and factors that may lead to musculoskeletal symptoms. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from January to March 2024 in the Department of General Surgery, Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, Islamabad, Pakistan. The survey was conducted among 110 surgeons working in different surgical specialties. A 30-item questionnaire was designed to ascertain knowledge, attitude, and practices about posture ergonomics among surgeons and was distributed online using Google Forms. The severity of pain was calculated using the Visual Analogue Score (VAS). Factors that contribute to musculoskeletal symptoms were also investigated. Data was collected and analyzed using SPSS version 26 Results: A total of 74 doctors responded to the questionnaire. Out of these, 71.6% were males and 28.4% were females, with a mean age of 38.87±11.4 years. The majority (91.9%) had some discomfort or pain during/after performing the surgery. Backache was the most common (22.8%), followed by pain in the legs (21.4%), neck (17.8%), shoulders (16.6%), hands (14.6%), and wrists (6.8%). Prolonged standing in the same position (52.7%), bad posture (33.8%), and performing a large number of surgeries daily (33.8%) were the major factors for their symptoms. Most surgeons (85.1%) knew about ergonomics in general. Only 32.4% of responders had received ergonomics education, while 67.6% did not. Conclusion: There is a deficiency of awareness of ergonomics among surgeons. Lack of ergonomics training and inadequate operation theatre resources are the leading causes of surgeons' pain with postural ergonomics.