Work-related musculoskeletal disorders in sonographers: a review of causes and types of injury and best practices for reducing injury risk

Abstract:

Work-related musculoskeletal disorders in sonography professionals have a reported incidence of 90%. These disorders are defined as conditions that are either caused by or aggravated by tasks performed in the workplace. These injuries have a financial and emotional impact on the worker and affect workplace productivity and quality patient care. The causes for these injuries are multifactorial and therefore require a variety of solutions for mitigating injury risk. Sonographer work postures, work schedules, task rotation, administrative support, and ergonomic workplace equipment all enter into the formula for reducing the incidence of these disorders.

Keywords::

• work-related musculoskeletal disorders
• WRMSD
• best practices
• workstation
• bedside studies
• ergonomics
• sonography

Disclosure

The author declares no conflicts of interest in this work.