2021 Volume 57 Issue 5 Pages 261-268
Endoscopists are at a high risk of developing musculoskeletal disorders （MSDs） due to such as prolonged standing posture in endoscopic submucosal dissection （ESD）, which has recently been established as a therapy for early gastrointestinal cancer of the esophagus, stomach, and colon. We hypothesize that use of the sit-stand endoscopic workstation may mitigate the risk of ESD-induced MSDs. Therefore, this study aims to compare the effects of standing and sit-stand workstation on the subjective discomforts of endoscopists in their local body parts during ESD procedures. The following were set: 1） the standing condition in which the subjects had a continuous standing posture during operation procedures, and 2） the sit-stand condition, wherein the subjects could switch between sitting or standing at their own discretion. A stratified sample assignment of 104 ESD cases was conducted in the standing （n＝51） and the sit-stand （n＝53） conditions with repeated measures by four endoscopists. Local discomfort levels increased with operation time at all sites. Compared with the standing condition, however, the sit-stand condition suppressed the progression of subjective discomfort levels in the right knee/right lower leg （p＝0.01）, right foot/right ankle （p＝0.04）, left knee/left lower leg （p＝0.04）, and lumbar regions （p＝0.10）. Thus, the results suggest that the use of a sit-stand workstation could reduce the risks of MSDs of lumbar area and lower legs during endoscopic procedures.
