Disclosures: Benjamin Gill, DO, MBA: No financial relationships or conflicts of interest

Objective: To analyze the prevalence of neck and arm pain in surgeons.

Design: Cross‐sectional quality improvement studySetting : Tertiary academic centerParticipants : 54 surgeons of various specialties, 31 attendings and 23 trainees.

Interventions: A REDCap questionnaire was sent electronically to all surgeons within the academic center. This included a series of three triage questions associated with neck pain or upper-extremity neurologic symptoms. A conditional set of questions was prompted if the surgeon indicated current or previous symptoms.

Main Outcome Measures: Surgeon experience demographics, surgical environments, incidence of self-reported symptoms, imaging, treatment received, and rate of surgical modifications secondary to symptoms.

Results: 59.7% (n=32) of surgeons reported one or more of the following: numbness or tingling in arms or hands (81%), neck pain warranting treatment (41%), or acute-onset upper extremity weakness or pain while operating (25%). Of those with symptoms, 97% reported receiving treatment, most commonly physical therapy or oral analgesics. 23 of these have not undergone advanced imaging or electrodiagnostics for their symptoms. If surgeons reported being several inches shorter compared to co-surgeons, there was a higher likelihood of symptoms compared to surgeons of equal or taller height (p=0.05). 54.8% of surgeons reported onset of symptoms between 20-30 years of age. 92.6% of respondents never received formal ergonomic training.Conclusions: This pilot study suggests a high frequency of neck or arm pain symptoms in surgeons that warrants further investigation. Reported symptoms are hypothesized to be related to neuropathy, radiculopathy, or arthritic processes. Onset of symptoms early in training needs further investigation, as these pathologies may be occurring at a higher rate among surgeons compared to the similar-aged general population. Furthermore, the low rate of ergonomic training prompts the need for further investigation with consideration for inclusion of proper positioning education for both individual and team operating environments, in addition to preemptive physical conditioning within surgical training programs.

Level of Evidence: Level III

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PM&R Meeting Abstracts - https://pmrjabstracts.org/abstract/prevalence-of-neck-and-arm-pain-in-surgeons-at-a-tertiary-academic-center/