Orthopedic surgery requires learning and mastering a range of technical gestures but little emphasis is placed on the ergonomics of these movements and the associated postures which are often restrictive and associated with muscular fatigue and discomfort leading to musculoskeletal injuries. The ergonomics of the operating table and the operating room is almost never taken into account by surgeons and even less by residents.
In some cases, chronic musculoskeletal injuries can unfortunately affect surgeon’s practice and in some cases put an end to the surgical career. We will present a review of best ergonomic practices in the operating room as well as recent data on muscle fatigue measured during orthopedic surgeries.
The outcomes of orthopedic surgery can also be seen on the side of the patient and particularly those waiting for a knee or hip replacement. The delay between the surgery decision and the surgery day is associated with physical deconditioning and is often present in these patients reducing their physical activities due to joint pain. This physical deconditioning particularly limits the possibility of rapid post-surgery recovery. The introduction of a prehabilitation program could improve the physical condition of those patients and hope for a better and faster recovery. We will present the current knowledge and the results of different prehabilitation approaches that have been used in our hospital system.
