Digital Survey Assessment of Factors Associated with Musculoskeletal Complaints Among US Ophthalmologists

Figures & data

Table 1 Demographic Features of Ophthalmologists Surveyed

Parameter	Value
Age (mean years ± SD)	50.0 ± 10.4
Race/Ethnicity (N, %)
White	108, 75.0%
Asian	26, 18.1%
Black	4, 2.8%
Hispanic/Latino	4, 2.8%
Other	2, 1.4%
Female (N, %)	34, 23.6%
Body Mass Index (mean ± SD)	24.4 ± 3.4
Years in Practice (mean ± SD)	20.8 ± 10.4
Subspecialization (N, %)
Cornea	49, 34.0%
Comprehensive	43, 29.9%
Glaucoma	36, 25.0%
Retina	11, 7.6%
Cornea and Glaucoma	5, 3.5%

Table 2 Body Parts Affected Among Those Reporting Pain Episodes

Location of Pain (N=83)	N, %^a
Cervical spine	49, 59.0%
Lumbar spine	42, 50.6%
Shoulders	35, 42.2%
Thoracic spine	22, 26.5%
Wrists and fingers	15, 18.1%
Hips	9, 10.8%
Knees	9, 10.8%
Feet and toes	9, 10.8%
Elbows	5, 6.0%

Note: ^aRespondents could select more than one option.

Table 3 Musculoskeletal (MSK) Diagnosis History

MSK Diagnosis (N=102)	N, %^a
Shoulder or rotator cuff disease or injury	35, 34.3%
Unspecified neck pain	31, 30.4%
Lumbar spine or lumbar disc injury or disease	29, 28.4%
No history of MSK diagnosis	28, 27.4%
Unspecified back pain	26, 25.5%
Cervical spine or cervical disc injury or disease	18, 17.6%
Other musculoskeletal disease or injury	16, 15.7%
Lateral or medial epicondylitis	13, 12.7%
Upper extremity arthritis	8, 7.8%
Carpal tunnel syndrome	5, 4.9%
Lower extremity arthritis	5, 4.9%
Thoracic spine or thoracic disc injury or disease	4, 3.9%
De Quervain’s syndrome or trigger finger	2, 2.0%
Bicep tendonitis	2, 2.0%

Note: ^aRespondents could select more than one option.

Table 4 Ordinal Regressions Testing Associations Between Musculoskeletal Complaint Characteristics and Difficulties with Ophthalmologist Job Tasks

Independent Variable	Outcome Variable^a
	Clinic Exam Difficulties Attributed to Musculoskeletal Symptoms
	Odds Ratio	95% Confidence Interval	p-value	Pseudo-R^2
Total Disability Index score	1.131	0.061, 0.185	<0.001	0.192
Number of pain locations	1.697	1.220, 2.360	0.002	0.129
Number of previous MSK diagnoses	1.363	1.090, 1.704	0.007	0.092
	In-Office Laser Difficulties Attributed to Musculoskeletal Symptoms
	Odds Ratio	95% Confidence Interval	p-value	Pseudo-R^2
Total Disability Index score	1.096	1.028, 1.168	0.005	0.105
Number of pain locations	1.709	1.220, 2.395	0.002	0.127
Number of previous MSK diagnoses	1.206	0.967, 1.503	0.097	0.036
	Surgery Difficulties Attributed to Musculoskeletal Symptoms
	Odds Ratio	95% Confidence Interval	p-value	Pseudo-R^2
Total Disability Index score	1.149	1.077, 1.227	<0.001	0.223
Number of pain locations	1.808	1.284, 2.544	0.001	0.137
Number of previous MSK diagnoses	1.284	1.021, 1.615	0.033	0.050

Notes: ^aDifficulties with clinic exam, in-office lasers, and surgery due to musculoskeletal symptoms were each self-rated with levels including “does not affect,” “makes it slightly more difficult,” “moderately more difficult,” “significantly more difficult,” and “caused me to stop this activity.” Odds ratios represent the odds of reporting a more severe response on the scale, and in turn greater difficulty with the task, with a one-unit increase in the independent variable.

Figure 1 Percentage of ophthalmologists reporting clinic, laser, surgery, and work hour challenges due to musculoskeletal symptoms.

Abbreviation: MSK, musculoskeletal.

Table 5 Linear Regressions Testing Associations Between Ophthalmologist Characteristics and Total Disability Index Score

Independent Variable	β	95% Confidence Interval	p-value	R-Squared
Age	0.054	−0.090, 0.198	0.46	0.006
Height	0.221	−0.082, 0.545	0.15	0.021
Years in practice	0.028	−0.119, 0.174	0.71	0.001
Outpatient volume in 1 year	−0.00008	−0.0005, 0.003	0.68	0.002
Hours worked in 1 year	−0.000006	−0.003, 0.003	1.00	0.000002
Surgical volume in 1 year	0.00005	−0.001, 0.001	0.94	0.00006
Laser volume in 1 year	0.002	−0.003, 0.006	0.43	0.006
Weekly wellness hours	0.072	−0.118, 0.262	0.45	0.006

Figure 2 Percentage of ophthalmologists who made various workplace adjustments to prevent or reduce musculoskeletal symptoms.

Abbreviation: OR, operating room.

Figure 3 Percentage of ophthalmologists who used various treatments to prevent or reduce musculoskeletal symptoms.

Abbreviations: CBD, Cannabidiol; OTC, Over-the-counter.