Resident Posture Biofeedback Study

Wake Forest University Health Sciences12 enrolled

Overview

While a majority of surgical ergonomic studies have been evaluating attending surgeons, few have evaluated surgical ergonomics within the surgical resident. Biofeedback devices can be partnered with education and geared towards surgical residents to decrease current and future musculoskeletal disorders, which may in turn lead to longer and more fulfilling careers.

This study aims to use a commercially-available posture training device for surgical residents that sends biofeedback in the form of a gentle vibration if posture has deviated from the upright (neutral) position for a long period of time. For residents performing minimally-invasive procedures with a laparoscopic approach, our overarching hypothesis is that the time spent in a non-upright position will be less after using the posture biofeedback device compared with before. The study hypothesizes that residents will report fewer complaints related to musculoskeletal pain after wearing the posture training device. Residents completing general surgery rotations will be recruited and wear a biofeedback device for about four weeks while performing laparoscopic procedures. Posture data from the device and survey data in the form of the Cornell Musculoskeletal Discomfort Questionnaire (CMDQ) will be collected and analyzed.

Study Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Allocation

Purpose

OTHER

Masking

NONE

Enrollment

Conditions

Postural; Strain Healthy

Interventions

Posture Biofeedback DeviceDEVICE

Participants will wear a commercially available posture training device for a two-week tracking period and a two-week training period while performing laparoscopic procedures.

Eligibility

Sex: ALLMin age: 18 Years

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

Inclusion Criteria: * Surgical residents with surgical experience of at least one year (Postgraduate year 2-5) * Completing a one-month rotation at the study sites within the general surgery department during the study period Exclusion Criteria: * Clinically diagnosed inflammatory musculoskeletal disorders per self-report * History of orthopedic surgery in the last six months per self-report

Locations (1)

Wake Forest University Health Sciences

Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

Time spent in upright vs non-upright position

proportion (percentage) of time (minutes) in the upright position relative to the non-upright position during laparoscopic procedures

Time frame: week 1 to week 4]

Secondary Outcomes

Change in Self-reported musculoskeletal pain score

Complaints related to musculoskeletal pain assessed using the Cornell Musculoskeletal Discomfort Questionnaire (CMDQ) - measures self-reported musculoskeletal discomfort for all body segments. 1 = low (score 1-2) 2 = moderate (score 3-4) 3 = high (score 5-7) 4 = very high (score 8-10 - higher scores meaning more discomfort

Time frame: baseline to week 4

Data from ClinicalTrials.gov

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