Work-related musculoskeletal complaints of physiotherapists working in intensive care units: Frequency analysis, risk factors, management and prevention strategies

What is it about?

ICU physiotherapists use their bodies as a working instrument and may be susceptible to the presence of musculoskeletal complaints related to their work activities. This article identifies the prevalence of these symptoms and assists in understanding their risk factors, as well as developing strategies for their prevention and management.

Featured Image

Photo by Jonny Gios on Unsplash

Photo by Jonny Gios on Unsplash

Why is it important?

There is already a discussion in the literature about musculoskeletal complaints in professionals working in hospital and intensive care areas. However,the analysis of existing articles are more aimed at other health professionals. In addition to this, there are papers about musculoskeletal complaints in physiotherapists, but most of the time they do not understand their role within the ICU environment. Bringing these two aspects together, we consider that we can add current answers to the literature on musculoskeletal complaints in ICU physiotherapists, as the role of this professional is increasingly growing.

Perspectives

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The content of our article is interesting, as it promotes updates in the ICU work environment for physiotherapists, in addition to providing important information on how to improve working conditions and prevent complaints and harm to professionals. The ideas also have a future impact due to a growing literature that shows the importance of increasingly early rehabilitation of ICU patients. Our study expands the vision for the acquisition of devices and technologies that reduce the physiotherapist's working time and the physical burden on their body. Furthermore, encouraging ergonomic training and the development of protocols for the physical and emotional care of physiotherapists can be useful.

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