The prevalence and causes of MSI amongst sonographers

The concept for this article came from the observation of sonographers at work and by reviewing the literature; it aims to consider the prevalence and causes of musculoskeletal injuries amongst sonographers. Emerging themes were analysed using the comparison of study results to verify and validate findings. Several important themes were identified in the literature: symptoms, prevalence and causes of musculoskeletal injury (MSI) among sonographers. The prevalence of MSI is apparently high; the average from the literature being 81%. However, many sonographers have not been diagnosed with musculoskeletal injuries, seeing their pain and discomfort as part of their job. Many areas of a sonographers' job have been reported as being possible causes of MSI. Posture, equipment, increased workload, and lack of breaks are just a few causes which are explored below. Crown Copyright (C) 2007 Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of The College of Radiographers. All rights reserved.