Variables associated with the prevalence of self‐reported work‐related musculoskeletal disorders in veterinary laparoscopic surgeons

Abstract Objective To investigate the relationship between physical attributes and difficulty performing laparoscopic maneuvers with the prevalence of self‐reported musculoskeletal injury. Study design Online survey. Sample population Surgeons ( n = 140) with 3 or more years of laparoscopic experience. Methods Electronic survey distributed via LISTSERVEs and Facebook groups. Responses collected included surgeon attributes, presence of musculoskeletal injuries, and surgical practice data. Statistical analysis was performed using the Shapiro–Wilk test, linear regression, logistic regression, and Wilcoxon rank sum tests. Results A total of 52 of the 140 respondents reported a musculoskeletal injury with 38 specifying at least one injury (72%). Neck strain was the most prevalent reported musculoskeletal injury (18/52, 34.6%), followed by shoulder tendinopathies (16/52, 30.8%), arm/hand tendonitis (8/52, 15.4%), carpal tunnel (7/52, 13.5%), back pain (4/52, 7.7%) and arm/hand arthritis (1/52, 1.9%). Women were significantly more likely to report a musculoskeletal problem than men ( p = .011) with the odds of women reporting a musculoskeletal injury 2.59 times greater than men. Women and surgeons with smaller glove sizes were significantly more likely to report shoulder tendonitis ( p = .034, p = .1) and neck strain ( p = .009, p = .001). Respondents with a musculoskeletal problem experienced significantly more difficulty using rotating cup biopsy forceps ( p < .001) and perceived this as difficult a greater amount of time ( p = .006). Conclusion Female surgeons report more musculoskeletal injuries than their male counterparts. Surgeons with musculoskeletal injuries experience more difficulty performing particular laparoscopic maneuvers. Clinical significance Improving ergonomics for women and surgeons with smaller glove sizes must be prioritized to improve surgeon health and laparoscopic instrument use.