Trunk muscle training, posture fatigue, and performance in laparoscopic surgery.

PURPOSE

To investigate the effect of trunk muscle endurance training on the perception of back postural fatigue and performance of a laparoscopic task.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Thirty-one medical students (28 men and 13 women) with no laparoscopic surgical experience were randomly assigned to either a training group or a control group. Participants in the training group underwent a 6-week, 18-session trunk (abdominal and back muscle) endurance training program, whereas participants in the control group did not. Performance by all participants was assessed on a simulated laparoscopic task under varying conditions of low back postural fatigue, both before and after the training program.

RESULTS

Participants in the training group showed significant improvements in trunk endurance after the 6-week, trunk endurance training program (P<0.05), whereas those in the control group did not. The improvements in trunk endurance were accompanied by significantly reduced perceptions of discomfort (P< .001) and fewer errors during performance of the laparoscopic task. (P<0.02), whereas no significant changes occurred for the control group (P>0.05).

CONCLUSION

Increasing trunk endurance can increase postural fatigue and discomfort during simulated laparoscopic tasks, which may assist in the management of errors during laparoscopy.