Mini Breaks, Many Benefits: Development and Pilot Testing of an Intraoperative Microbreak Stretch Web-Application for Surgeons

Abstract

Periodic intraoperative microbreaks with calesthenic exercises performed within the sterile field improved self-reported mental focus (38%) and physical performance (57%) for 56 surgeons. Therefore, targeted stretching exercises and a web-application (web-app) leading the stretches with a reminder system were developed and piloted using user-centered design principles. A focus group with 10 users was conducted to refine the developed app. Seven surgeons (4 females) at a quaternary medical institute piloted the periodic stretching web-app in their operating rooms. At the end of each surgical day, the surgeons completed a short survey about the intraoperative stretching exercises web-app impact on their physical performance, mental focus and workflow disruption. Non-Routine Events were captured during the procedures. Twelve surgical days were followed with a median of 6 microbreaks/day/surgeon. Results showed that better physical performance and lower fatigue were reported (91.7%) across the surgical days, also better mental focus was reported (83.3%) across the surgical days, and less pain/discomfort was reported (100%) across the surgical days, with others reporting no change. The web-app leading sterile field microbreak stretches helped reduce physical pain, discomfort/pain, fatigue, and improve mental focus with minimal disruption for a small sample. The web-app is a promising tool for improving surgeon mental focus and physical performance and potentially musculoskeletal health.

Impact of preferred surgical modality on surgeon wellness: a survey of workload, physical pain/discomfort, and neuromusculoskeletal disorders

“…NMSDs have been found to be the most common health problem reported by surgeons (general, colorectal, vascular, and cardiothoracic) that led to retirement [ 6 ]. Experts in this research area (e.g., health care ergonomists) should dedicate more effort to the development and evaluation of potential interventions such as ergonomic education [ 10 , 36 , 37 ], intraoperative stretching microbreaks [ 11 – 14 ], and exercises before and after the surgical procedures [ 10 ] to mitigate surgeons’ body part discomfort/pain and the risk of developing NMSDs. Furthermore, exploring the NMSDs among four surgical modalities showed that its prevalence was significantly lower in robotic surgeons (7%) compared to the other surgical modalities (between 60 and 67%).…”

“…Due to the increasing prevalence of work-related injuries reported by surgeons, there is a critical need for better ergonomic understanding and interventions in the operating room (OR). While previous studies have explored potential ergonomic interventions such as physical exercise outside the OR [ 10 ], intraoperative stretching microbreaks [ 11 – 14 ] and more recently passive exoskeletons [ 15 – 17 ], there still remain many factors contributing to this problem. One unanswered question is: does surgeon preference for a surgical modality (e.g., open, laparoscopic, endoscopic, robot-assisted) affect the incidence of NMSDs, pain, and physical discomfort?…”

Effect of a Developed Nursing Stretch Break Application on Work-Related Musculoskeletal Complications and Fatigue among Nurses: An Interventional Study

“…Abdelall et al in their study showed that the web-application microbreak stretches helped to reduce physical pain, discomfort/pain, and fatigue and improve mental focus with minimal disruption among the surgeons [ 29 ]. In addition, Tavakkol et al, in their study on the operating room personnel, revealed that regular exercise and physical activity, use of stretching, and gentle exercise could be practical approaches to relieving the WMSs [ 30 ].…”

Active and passive work breaks during simulated laparoscopy among laparoscopic surgeons: study protocol for a controlled, randomised cross-over laboratory trial

“…Two more recent studies focused on the development of either an optimised active work-break structure 30 or a web-based application that video guide the surgeon to perform some stretch work breaks. 31 …”