Prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders among perioperative nurses: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

Background

To evaluate the prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WRMSDs) in perioperative nurses and to explore their association with personal characteristics.

Methods

Medline, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Scopus, Web of Science, Cochrane Library and Joanna Briggs Institute Database were systematically searched. A meta-analysis calculating event rates, and relative 95% Confidence Intervals (CI) was performed for each musculoskeletal district. The contribution of perioperative nurses’ gender, age, and BMI was assessed trough a meta-regression.

Results

Twenty-two studies, considering 3405 perioperative nurses, were included in the systematic review. The highest prevalence of WRMSDs was found for the lower-back (61%; 95% CI 0.52–0.70), followed by shoulder (45%; 95% CI 0.38–0.53), waist (45%; 95% CI 0.34–0.57), knee (45%; 95% CI 0.32–0.54), neck (39%; 95% CI 0.27–0.52), upper-back (34%; 95% CI 0.24–0.46), ankle-feet (33%; 95% CI 0.18–0.51), hand-wrist (29%; 95% CI 0.19–0.41), and elbow (18%; 95% CI 0.11–0.27). Meta-regression showed that gender, age, and BMI were not significant predictors of low-back disorders (p = 0.69; R2 = 0).

Conclusions

WRMSDs represent a high prevalence issue among perioperative nurses. Perioperative nurses, in general, are steadily exposed to both physical and temporal risk factors. Several interventions may be adopted to reduce the burden of WRMSDs, including ergonomic education and physical rehabilitation. Our data could be used in future studies as a reference to assess the risk of WRMSDs in other health-care professionals’ population.