Subjective complaints in orthopedists and general surgeons

The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of subjective complaints among two groups of health care personnel. Using a mail questionnaire, 63 male orthopedists and 78 male general surgeons were asked to respond to questions on their subjective musculoskeletal complaints as well as their age, occupational career, and daily working time. In the final analysis, 54 orthopedists and 63 general surgeons who were aged 59 years and had worked for at least 5 years in clinical practice were considered. The mean age was 43.3 (SD 7.6) years for the orthopedists and 41.8 (SD 9.5) years for the general surgeons. Their mean employment time was 18.1 (SD 8.9) years and 16.6 (SD 9.5) years, respectively. The average working time per day was 9.5 h. In general, the orthopedists had a higher prevalence of subjective complaints than the general surgeons. Problems in the shoulders and lower back were the most frequently reported complaints, followed by neck problems. There were significant differences (P < 0.05) between the two groups regarding stiffness in the shoulders, stiffness in the lower back, pain in the neck, and numbness in the fingers. When subjective complaints were compared between the junior (employment time: < 20 years) and senior (employment time: 20 years) staff, the junior orthopedists had significantly higher prevalence rates for stiffness in the shoulders, pain in the neck, and stiffness in the lower back. This subgroup had significantly higher odds ratios (ORs) for some subjective complaints as compared to the junior surgeons, e.g., pain in the neck OR = 6.19, 95% confidence interval (95% Cl) 1.91–20.04], shoulder stiffness (OR = 3.75, 95% Cl 1.36–10.31), pain in the shoulders (OR = 4.41, 95% Cl 3.64–4.70), and stiffness in the lower back (OR = 4.93, 95% Cl 1.74–13.94). It was concluded that ergonomic intervention to improve the working environment is imperative. In addition to ergonomic factors, consideration might also be given to psychological factors with a view to reducing the risk of subjective complaints among these subjects.