Ergonomic practices and musculoskeletal disorders among ophthalmologists in India: An online appraisal.

Introduction: Ergonomics in ophthalmology is neither taught during professional training nor does it readily receive consideration or priority in clinical practice. Owing to a high prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders among ophthalmologists, ergonomic awareness, and practices are vital in averting this modern epidemic.

Objective: To assess the ergonomic practices and prevalence of self-reported musculoskeletal disorders among ophthalmologists in India.

Method: An online survey was conducted among ophthalmologists who were registered with the All India Ophthalmological Society of India using a pre-tested and validated questionnaire.

Results: The prevalence of self-reported musculoskeletal disorder in the 377 participants was 75.3% (284; 95% confidence interval: 70.6-79.5). Low back pain (149, 52.9%) was the most commonly reported symptom. Musculoskeletal disorder-attributed productivity loss was reported by 58.45% (166) of the respondents. Musculoskeletal disorder was most frequently associated with less than 10 years of work experience (odds ratio: 1.2; 95% confidence interval: 1.1-1.3, p = 0.01) and lack of good clinic (odds ratio: 1.7; 95% confidence interval: 1.1-2.7, p = 0.03) and operation room ergonomic practices (odds ratio: 1.8; 95% confidence interval: 1.1-2.9, p = 0.03). Only 27.9% (105) of the respondents had accessed information related to ergonomics in ophthalmic practice.

Conclusion: The self-reported musculoskeletal disorder among ophthalmologists in India is quite high and significant enough to cause some degree of productivity loss. It is thus imperative to emphasize the implementation of good ergonomic practices, especially among relatively young ophthalmologists.