Back pain and body fatigue in OR versus Med-surg

Lots of heavy lifting in the O.R. Heavy equipment and heavy patients.

I've never worked med-surg, I went straight to the OR from nursing school. But I can tell you that I'm 46 years old, I go to the gym 5 days a week, I'm in excellent health and physical condition, and some days the OR just kicks my butt. There are days as a circulator where you seem to be bending and stooping all day long to connect this piece of equipment or that piece of equipment; running the circuit between your room, the instrument room, and the materials room; and jumping up every few minutes to answer someone's pager or phone. As a scrub, it's even worse because you have to basically stand in one spot for hours at a time. If I had a chronic physical condition, I'd seriously reconsider working in the OR.

Working med-surg I would get low back pain. Now in OR, I get upper back pain and head/neck pain. It's same pain, different places because of different repetitive movement.

varicose veins are more common if you are assign in OR...you are always to be on your toes always...especially when you are the circulating nurse...your having a hard time to attend each cases in OR...VERY EXHAUSTING.....

Hello -

Back pain can be made to go away by learning how to use your structure in a more efficient way. Learning to move more efficiently doesn't have to mean spending hours in the gym - it can actually begin happening very quickly under the proper conditions. I am 37 years old, and suffered from a bi-lateral herniation at L5/S1, with degenerative disc disease in the three discs above that area. Utilizing movement re-education methods, I feel better now than I did at 18! NO JOKE! I now work with nurses much of the time to pass along this knowledge. Incredibly rewarding work!

Best of luck to you!

Chad

Been working in the OR for 7 years in both hospital and surgery center facilities. Depending on the length of the case and the facility, you may be able to slow down some but not much. In a surgery center you work even more because you will also be the house cleaning staff between cases - moping the floor as well as getting everything for your case set up and ready. Usually you are always on the go and my friends who do work med-surg seem to think that my position is much more physical than theirs. As a matter of fact I am now on medical leave because while working at a surgery center I tore my lateral meniscus. I am still rehabilitating after 4 months and an Arthroscopy!

Hi,
I've worked med-surg (ortho) and am now in the OR. It's physically challenging on different levels.

On the floor...
I would be tired physically because of running from room to room and lower back pain is frequent. I've even strained my back due to patients that can't help when it's time for them to turn etc. BUT, you can always sneak a quick stretch break in between.

In the OR...
If you are scrubbed, I have found that your neck sometimes gets 'tired' from just looking at one spot (when the case is a laparoscopic case). Your feet hurt cuz you only stand in one spot can't really stretch those legs (you feet might contaminate something). IF you're doing an ortho case, you have to carry those HEAVY pans and wait till your circulator checks the wrapping before you can place it on your table.

If circulating, it's a lot of bending down, getting into tight corners to plug this, that, and the other into a something. Then you have to move a fairly limp heavy patient, remember they are coming out of sedation and doesn't have the full use of their limbs.

But, I wouldn't trade the OR for the floor EVER!

A couple questions to those on this forum:

Here in the midwest, I've found that any type of ergonomic training for nurses is waaay too superficial and doesn't provide good strategies for helping nurses learn more efficient self use. Anyone have any success stories where this isn't the case? What type of training have you received that you feel has had any benefit?

Thanks!

Chad

OK, I worked on a Med-Surg ortho floor and in the OR as well. The OR is more challenging on your back. Yes, it can be hard on your back to work on the floor, but there is so much stuff in the OR...There are so many beds, the fracture table, the Jackson Frame, the andrews table, the wilson frame. We are always lifting something heavy and putting it together. You have to crawl under a table to get a foot pedal or connect something, you have to turn the patient lateral,etc...I can go on and on. So I guess the moral of the story is the OR is harder on my back then Med-Surg. But that's just my opinion!

Good luck!