General surgeons' occupational musculoskeletal injuries: A systematic review

Surgeons are expected to work long hours in operating theatres. A high prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal (WRMSK) injuries and pain in healthcare professions exists. We aimed to study WRMSK pain and injuries in general surgeons and study their risk in different surgical techniques comprising open, laparoscopic and robotic-assisted surgery.

A systematic search was performed in compliance with The PRISMA checklist. Search was performed in PubMed and Cochrane library databases for 6 years to 2024. The search terms used were "disability and surgeon", "occupational injuries and surgeon", and "musculoskeletal pain and surgeons", in addition to MESH terms in PubMed database. Risk of bias was calculated among studies.

The search revealed 3648 citations from which a final list of 24 citations were included after application of inclusion and exclusion criteria. The citations comprised over 1900 surgeons including consultants and surgical trainees from different subspecialities. Incorporated citations consisted of 21 cross-sectional 3 observational studies. Most common pain sites, risks and preventative measure for MSK injuries were revealed.

There is high prevalence of WRMSK pain among general surgeons. Surgeons were primarily affected at physical body parts ranging from the neck, shoulders, upper back and lower back to upper extremity. Robotic-assisted surgery led to lower post-operative discomfort and decreased demanding muscle activity in upper extremities but enhanced static neck position resulting in subjective back stiffness compared with laparoscopic surgery.