EnVision Summit 2025: Ergonomics in the operating room

At the Envision Summit 2025 in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Amy Zhang, MD, discussed the importance of ergonomics in the operating room.

Video Transcript:

Editor's note: The below transcript has been lightly edited for clarity.

Amy Zhang, MD:

Hi, my name is Amy Zhang. I'm from the University of Michigan. I'm a clinical associate professor of ophthalmology at the Kellogg Eye Center, and I'm really excited this year to be giving a talk regarding the importance of ergonomics, especially for us women. And so at this talk, we've talked about the importance of some of the constraints that are related specifically to our field of ophthalmology, as well as the impact it has on future generations. I gave some pearls on [what] we can do to understand our own forms when we're operating, as well as some takeaways of what we can do outside of the OR to strengthen our core to better be able to serve our patients as we continue to operate. And so I'm really excited to have this opportunity to present this at EnVision to our retina colleagues.

Some of the pearls are that oftentimes we're not aware of our own ergonomics when we're in the OR, and 1 of the ways in which we can alleviate some of that is to actually have someone take a picture of you, or do a video of you, so that you are aware of what your own forms are. In addition, every 20 minutes while you are in the OR, to take a 20-second break to really focus on yourself, maybe do a mini-stretch during those times, to help alleviate some of the pressure on your joints.

So when we think about the role of ergonomics, it doesn't apply just to the OR or work settings. It applies to our day-to-day lives, including what we do outside. So in terms of what you are doing at home, as well as what you do for your extracurriculars and hobbies, those factors all play a role in ergonomics. And what I mean by that is, when you're looking at your phone with your head bent over 15 degrees, that's actually applying a lot of cervical force to your neck region. And so those are things to consider when you're thinking about your day-to-day.

I think there's been some movement towards heads-up displays, specifically OR microscopes that are heads-up displays, which sort of alleviate some of the issues with the neck down positioning. However, most of the units currently do involve you to have to sit a little offset, and I do worry about some of the longer impacts of what's happening to your lumbar spine region.

In my talk, I did highlight that one of the biggest impacts is the long-term longevity for our workforce. So having some musculoskeletal complaints, these would impact how you're able to operate. Some surgeons are not able to continue operating due to chronic pain, and so this is the role of the importance of ergonomics. In many of our colleagues, we sometimes see strains specifically to the cervical as well as the lumbar regions. So across multiple studies internationally, we found that the incidence of musculoskeletal disorders in ophthalmologists is much higher than the general population, regardless of age.