{"title":"Musculoskeletal disorders among sonographers: a systematic review and meta-analysis.","authors":"Zahra Zangiabadi, Faezeh Makki, Hassan Marzban, Fatemeh Salehinejad, Ali Sahebi, Somayeh Tahernejad","doi":"10.1186/s12913-024-11666-w","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>The job of sonographers exposes them to numerous ergonomic risk factors, making the sonography profession one of the high-risk job groups vulnerable to musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). The present systematic review and meta-analysis specifically examined the prevalence of MSDs among sonographers.</p><p><strong>Materials and methods: </strong>The present review study was carried out in accordance with the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. The protocol of the study was registered in the international prospective register of systematic review (PROSPERO) with the code CRD42024507972. Searches were conducted in databases including PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Science Direct, SID, ISC, and Google Scholar, without imposing a time limit until February 7th, 2024. The random-effects model was employed for meta-analysis, and the I<sup>2</sup> index was used to assess heterogeneity among studies. Finally, data analysis was performed using STATA (version 14).</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Based on the search in different databases, a total of 4367 articles were identified. Finally, after screening, selecting, and quality evaluation of the studies, 30 studies were considered for meta-analysis in which 13,916 sonographers were examined. According to the results of the meta-analysis, the overall prevalence of MSDs among sonographers was reported as 75.80% (95% CI: 65.37-86.23, I<sup>2</sup> = 99.7%, P < 0.001). Additionally, the prevalence rates of these disorders in the neck (63.73%), shoulder (60.13%), upper back (53.69%), lower back (49.84%), wrist (44.41%), elbow (27.46), hip (24.93%), knee (19.59), and ankle (16.92%) were determined.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Given the relatively high prevalence of MSDs among sonographers and the importance of reducing specific risk factors associated with their duties, it is recommended to consider solutions such as carrying out ergonomic assessments and interventions, as well as providing training programs and appropriate corrective exercises to mitigate MSDs among sonographers.</p>","PeriodicalId":9012,"journal":{"name":"BMC Health Services Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.7000,"publicationDate":"2024-10-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11472494/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"BMC Health Services Research","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-024-11666-w","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"HEALTH CARE SCIENCES & SERVICES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Introduction: The job of sonographers exposes them to numerous ergonomic risk factors, making the sonography profession one of the high-risk job groups vulnerable to musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). The present systematic review and meta-analysis specifically examined the prevalence of MSDs among sonographers.
Materials and methods: The present review study was carried out in accordance with the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. The protocol of the study was registered in the international prospective register of systematic review (PROSPERO) with the code CRD42024507972. Searches were conducted in databases including PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Science Direct, SID, ISC, and Google Scholar, without imposing a time limit until February 7th, 2024. The random-effects model was employed for meta-analysis, and the I2 index was used to assess heterogeneity among studies. Finally, data analysis was performed using STATA (version 14).
Results: Based on the search in different databases, a total of 4367 articles were identified. Finally, after screening, selecting, and quality evaluation of the studies, 30 studies were considered for meta-analysis in which 13,916 sonographers were examined. According to the results of the meta-analysis, the overall prevalence of MSDs among sonographers was reported as 75.80% (95% CI: 65.37-86.23, I2 = 99.7%, P < 0.001). Additionally, the prevalence rates of these disorders in the neck (63.73%), shoulder (60.13%), upper back (53.69%), lower back (49.84%), wrist (44.41%), elbow (27.46), hip (24.93%), knee (19.59), and ankle (16.92%) were determined.
Conclusion: Given the relatively high prevalence of MSDs among sonographers and the importance of reducing specific risk factors associated with their duties, it is recommended to consider solutions such as carrying out ergonomic assessments and interventions, as well as providing training programs and appropriate corrective exercises to mitigate MSDs among sonographers.
期刊介绍:
BMC Health Services Research is an open access, peer-reviewed journal that considers articles on all aspects of health services research, including delivery of care, management of health services, assessment of healthcare needs, measurement of outcomes, allocation of healthcare resources, evaluation of different health markets and health services organizations, international comparative analysis of health systems, health economics and the impact of health policies and regulations.