Musculoskeletal Pain in Gynecologic Surgeons

Abstract

Objective To describe the prevalence of musculoskeletal pain and symptoms in gynecologic surgeons. Design Prospective cross-sectional survey study (Canadian Task Force classification II-2). Setting Virtual. All study participants were contacted and participated via electronic means. Participants Gynecologic surgeons. Interventions An anonymous, web-based survey was distributed to gynecologic surgeons via electronic newsletters and direct E-mail. Measurements and Main Results There were 495 respondents with complete data. When respondents were queried about their musculoskeletal symptoms in the past 12 months, they reported a high prevalence of lower back (75.6%) and neck (72.9%) pain and a slightly lower prevalence of shoulder (66.6%), upper back (61.6%), and wrist/hand (60.9%) pain. Many respondents believed that performing surgery caused or worsened the pain, ranging from 76.3% to 82.7% in these five anatomic regions. Women are at an approximately twofold risk of pain, with adjusted odds ratios (OR) of 1.88 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.1–3.2; p 5 .02) in the lower back region, OR 2.6 (95% CI, 1.4–4.8; p 5 .002) in the upper back, and OR 2.9 (95% CI, 1.8–4.6; p 5 .001) in the wrist/hand region. Conclusion Musculoskeletal symptoms are highly prevalent among gynecologic surgeons. Female sex is associated with approximately twofold risk of reported pain in commonly assessed anatomic regions. Journal of Minimally Invasive Gynecology (2013) 20, 656-660

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