Abstract
Purpose :
Ophthalmic surgeons are at an increased risk for musculoskeletal disorders resulting in chronic back and neck pain, which has been linked to disability, productivity loss, and early retirement. Prior studies have correlated these outcomes to work-related routines and equipment specific to ophthalmic exams and surgeries, which may be exacerbated by poor posture. The purpose of this study was to observe the effect that a commercially available posture trainer, Upright Go, can have on the improvement of posture of ophthalmic surgeons.
Methods :
Five ophthalmologists-in-training were studied over a period of four weeks during their surgical rotations between September 2020 and June 2021. Participants underwent an “observation” period consisting of two surgical days during which their postural data was tracked via the posture training device and recorded through an associated phone application. The trainees then entered a two-week “training” period, during which the device was calibrated and programmed to vibrate anytime the user slouched past a certain degree specific to the calibration of each user. The final “testing” period consisted of another two surgical days with the vibration setting turned back off while user posture was again tracked. The percentage of time users spent upright intraoperatively pre- and post- training was evaluated.
Results :
All five participants demonstrated an increase in the percentage of time spent upright after the training period. Across all participants, the total average percentage spent upright in the observation period was 64.2%, while in the testing period was 89.3%, resulting in an average improvement of 25.1% of time spent in an upright position after the completion of the training period (p<0.002). The range of improvement of time spent upright was 16.0% to 33.5%.
Conclusions :
This cohort study utilized the Upright Go device to help determine the effect that its training could have on improvement of posture in ophthalmic surgeons. The results indicated a significant increase in the average proportion of time spent with upright posture compared after the training period.
This abstract was presented at the 2022 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Denver, CO, May 1-4, 2022, and virtually.