Introduction
head flexion, angulation, head and neck flexion reduction, low angulation, Work-related musculoskeletal disorders, WMSDs
BENDING
Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) are prevalent among surgeons, irrespective of their surgical modalities and specialties (As demonstrated in a previous study, among other factors such as high neck bending angles and precision work requirements, the weight of surgical loupes adds to the torque that impacts in the forward-bending neck and conjointly amplifies the cervical loading (Dentists and dental hygienists work with bending neck and trunk with hands working in a constrained site (The studies on prismatic loupes of low angulation (4.6°) reported significant head and neck flexion reduction among the intervention group in the short-term experiment (The prismatic loupes with a high angulation (90°), were reported to decrease the head tilt by 20°, which was an equivalent 0° head flexion, border-line the limit of the action level range; this may lead to over-correction or even backward extension of the head (Overall, it is worthwhile to study the effects of prismatic loupes with varying angulations on physical workload, discomfort, and workability.Despite of the recent development of commercially available prismatic loupes for surgeons [e.g., (Lastly, it has been reported that the usage of surgical loupe is associated with increased neck/shoulder muscle activation (Hence, further studies are needed to investigate the feasibility of using prismatic loupes to reduce surgeons’ physical workload and to evaluate the effects of different angulations of the loupes. This study aimed to compare two types of new prismatic loupes with traditional loupes, regarding surgeons’ physical workload, perceived physical discomfort, surgical performance and subjective evaluation in simulated surgical tasks.