The burden of knee pain in the operating room: are surgical personnel at greater risk?

TL;DR

Surgical healthcare workers experience higher rates of knee pain compared to nonsurgical staff, but using knee panels during hand scrubbing does not seem to cause long-term knee pain.

Contribution

This study identifies risk factors for knee pain in surgical personnel and evaluates the role of knee panels in causing persistent knee pain.

Findings

Surgical personnel had a 54.8% prevalence of knee pain compared to 39.5% in nonsurgical personnel.

Knee panel use was common but not significantly associated with persistent knee pain.

Age, surgical experience, and working in a surgical unit were independently linked to knee pain.

Abstract

This study aimed to determine the prevalence of knee pain among healthcare workers in surgical units and to explore whether the use of knee panels during surgical hand scrubbing is associated with persistent knee pain.

This single-center cross-sectional study was conducted between October 2023 and March 2025. A total of 400 physicians and nurses working in surgical and nonsurgical departments were included. Participants completed a structured and modified Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire, as well as knee pain assessment tools, including a visual analog scale (VAS) and the Kujala score for anterior knee pain-related symptoms. Occupational exposure among surgical staff was additionally evaluated. Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics.

The prevalence of knee pain was 54.8% among surgical personnel and 39.5% among nonsurgical personnel. VAS scores were significantly higher in the surgical group, while there was no significant difference between groups in terms of Kujala scores. Knee panel use was common and more than half of the users reported discomfort during use; however, there was no statistically significant association between panel use and persistent knee pain. Regression analysis identified increasing age, longer duration of surgical experience, and employment in a surgical unit as factors independently associated with knee pain.

Employment in a surgical unit is associated with a higher prevalence of knee pain among healthcare workers. However, the use of knee panels during surgical hand scrubbing does not appear to be associated with persistent knee pain. Multicomponent ergonomic interventions should be implemented to prevent musculoskeletal disorders.

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