OTSurveyWork (Reading, Mass.)2023

Radiographers' musculoskeletal health in Western Switzerland: WRMSDs symptoms prevalence and risk factors.

Kelly Fernandes, Cláudia Sá Dos Reis, Florentino Serranheira

PMID 35661043

WHAT IT FOUND

Radiographers in Western Switzerland reported musculoskeletal symptoms very often, especially neck and low back.

Awkward postures, force, inadequate equipment, stress, and being a woman were associated with symptoms.

Key findings

0194.7% of analyzed radiographers reported work-related musculoskeletal symptoms in the last 12 months, and 67.7% reported symptoms in the last 7 days.

02The most affected regions in the last 12 months were neck (73.0%), low back (67.4%), shoulders (55.7%), and upper back (44.9%).

03Frequent awkward postures, frequent force, stress or anxiety, being a woman, and previous health problems were associated with neck or low back symptoms.

STILL TO COME

How it was doneWhat they found

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What it does not show

The survey was voluntary and not intended to represent all Swiss radiographers. It was distributed only in French and only in Western Switzerland, so it cannot be generalized to all Switzerland. Non-response bias could not be checked because non-response data were missing. It ran during a pandemic period, which may have affected responses. Symptoms and risk factors were self-reported, not examined or measured. The design was cross-sectional, so associations do not show cause.

Declared interests

The authors declared no conflict of interest.

The easy way to misread this

Do not read the risk factor associations as proof that awkward postures, force, stress, or gender caused symptoms. This was a self-reported cross-sectional survey, and no intervention was tested.

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