Laparoscopic surgeons are at high risk of experiencing musculoskeletal discomfort, which is considered the result of long-lasting static and awkward body postures. We primarily aimed to evaluate whether passive and active work breaks can reduce ratings of perceived discomfort among laparoscopic surgeons compared with no work breaks. We secondarily aimed to examine potential differences in performance and workload across work break conditions and requested the surgeons evaluate working with passive or active work breaks.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Investigate the effect of passive, active or no intra-operative work breaks on static, median and peak muscular activity, muscular fatigue, upper body postures, heart rate, and heart rate variability.
Background: Although laparoscopic surgery is preferred over open surgery for the benefit of the patient, it puts the surgeons at higher risk for developing musculoskeletal disorders especially due to the less dynamic and awkward working posture. The organizational intervention intraoperative work break is a workplace strategy that has previously demonstrated positive effects in small-scale intervention studies.
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic requires wearing face masks in many areas of our daily life; hence, the potential side effects of mask use are discussed. Therefore, the present study explores whether wearing a medical face mask (MedMask) affects physical working capacity (PWC). Secondary, the influence of a filtering facepiece mask with exhalation valve class 2 (FFP2exhal) and a cotton fabric mask (community mask) on PWC was also investigated.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Laparoscopy has partially replaced open surgery due to the lower infection rate for the patient and hence better and shorter recovery. However, the surgeon's physical load is higher due to longer duration static and awkward body postures, increasing the risk for developing work-related musculoskeletal disorders. Interventions of an organisational nature are work breaks, being either passive or active.
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