Are you pushing through the pain?
30 March 2022
Acuity digital
Kathy Oxtoby looks at why practitioners experience physical discomfort and what steps they can take to help themselves.
During the pandemic, much attention was paid to the mental health and wellbeing of practitioners at work. However, many clinicians also report work-related physical pain or discomfort.
Shoulder, lower back and neck pain are common problems for the profession. Research has shown that 70% to 82% of practitioners experience these issues (Al-Marwani Al-Juhani et al, 2015; Long et al, 2011). One study of occupational musculoskeletal (MSK) pain and injury among optometrists showed that 41% reported shoulder pain, 37% lower back pain and 34% neck pain (Uhlman et al, 2019).
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Related further reading
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