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Evaluation of work-related musculoskeletal problems in pediatric surgeons

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Abstract

Purpose

Pediatric surgeons are exposed to intense work-related activities, depending on their profession, including residency training. This study aims to investigate the musculoskeletal symptoms and analyze the relationship between musculoskeletal symptoms and the demographics, physical activity levels, and body mass index (BMI) of pediatric surgeons.

Methods

A total of 82 pediatric surgeons (female, 20; male, 62) were included in this study. The musculoskeletal symptoms were determined using the Cornell Musculoskeletal Discomfort Questionnaire. The levels of physical activity were determined using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire.

Results

The mean age of the participants was 48.97 ± 8.894 years, the mean BMI was 26.72 ± 4.12 kg/m2, and the mean working time after acquiring their specialty was 18.65 ± 9.83 years. The average surgery counts per week were 15.22 ± 12.17. Pediatric surgeons mostly complained from lower back pain, upper back pain, neck pain, and right and left shoulder pain. Surgeons with higher BMI had higher pain scores and received more treatment sessions.

Conclusions

Pediatric surgeons’ complaints are related to their total numbers of surgery. Higher BMI and lower physical activity seem to be the major contributing factors for developing musculoskeletal symptoms. The study results indicated that surgeons should keep their BMI levels to the optimum and increase their physical activity levels.

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Acknowledgements

The author would like to thanks to Prof. Dr. Hakan Çavuşoğlu for his help in this research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ankara City Hospital, Ankara, Turkey

    Fatih Akbiyik

  2. Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey

    Özgün Uysal & Tüzün Firat

  3. Lokman Hekim University, Ankara, Turkey

    Nilgün Bek

Authors
  1. Fatih Akbiyik
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  2. Özgün Uysal
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  3. Tüzün Firat
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  4. Nilgün Bek
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Contributions

Study conception and design: FA and NB. Acquisition of data: FA. Analysis and interpretation of data: FA, OU, TF, and NB. Drafting of manuscript: FA, OU, TF, and NB. Critical revision of manuscript: FA, OU, TF, and NB.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Fatih Akbiyik.

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Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

It was obtained from Hacettepe University Ethical Committee (number: GO 19/901).

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An informed consent form was signed by participants.

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Akbiyik, F., Uysal, Ö., Firat, T. et al. Evaluation of work-related musculoskeletal problems in pediatric surgeons. Pediatr Surg Int 37, 1333–1338 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00383-021-04928-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00383-021-04928-9

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