Presented by: Granville Lloyd MD
University of Colorado/ Rocky Mountain Regional VA Hospital

Introduction

Ergonomic research has primarily focused on surgeons due to perceived risk of work induced musculoskeletal disorders (WIMD). There remains little data analyzing WIMD including non-surgical specialties, especially in a setting controlled for environmental factors. We set out to assess the relationship of pain, need for surgical intervention, practice type, screen time and other factors in a controlled cross-specialty cohort of practicing physicians.

 

Materials

An anonymous web survey was distributed to participating departments of our institution, including Surgery including Urology, Anesthesiology, Emergency Medicine (EM), Otolaryngology (ENT), Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, Neurology, Neurosurgery, Pediatrics. The primary outcome measures were subjective reports of significant neck and back pain and need for surgical intervention. Qualtrics Software backed on a secure CU server was utilized to manage data. Chi-square analysis was performed to analyze variance in means and percentages across the specialties. 

Results

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Data was extracted from 746 surveys collected across 10 departments. Analysis was restricted to MD/DO attending physicians (n=476). The department of ENT, Pediatrics, and Surgery had the highest rates of significant pain (81.82%, 61.11%, and 58.11% respectively; p=0.027). The greatest time spent on computer tasks were Internal Medicine and Family Medicine at 5.54 and 5.36 hrs/day (p<0.001). ENT and Surgery had the highest percentage of respondents who attribute their WIMD to their career at 66.67% and 52.38% respectively (p<0.001). 

Conclusion

We found greater subjective pain among procedural specialties; this suggests but does not prove a causative role intrinsic to specialty. The higher proportion of proceduralists who attribute their pain to their career may represent departments in need of ergonomic intervention. The increased time spent on computer related tasks in non-procedural departments represents a workforce that may benefit from further investigation but does not appear related to WIMD. The inpatient pediatrics department had the highest percentage of significant pain of the non-procedural specialties. This may be attributable to multiple factors unique to pediatrics however no definitive causation can be determined. Further research is crucial to protect and retain a healthy physician workforce.

Funding

none

Lead Authors

Jason Sidrak, BA
University of Colorado Anschutz School of Medicine

Co-Authors

Paige Hargis, BA
University of Colorado Department of Surgery/ Urology

Dyvon Walker, MD
University of Colorado Department of Surgery/ Urology

Randall Meacham, MD
University of Colorado Department of Surgery/ Urology

Penny Archuleta, MA
University of Colorado Department of Pediatrics