Biomechanical risk assessment of pathologists in the morgue

The purpose of this study is to research the risk of biomechanical overload in pathologists during autopsies performed in dissection room. During autopsies, operators are exposed both to the risks of manual handling, in transferring the cadaver from the trolley to the dissection table (and vice versa), and to awkward postures during the incision and opening of the cadaver to examine the organs. Following task analysis, we decided to use, according to the task, the methods that best describes it and include its peculiar characteristics. The methods used were: the REBA protocol, 3DSSPP software and surface electromyography. The results show that, in almost all the tasks investigated and with all the methods used, there was a medium-high risk of biomechanical overload. In the light of these results, we suggest possible intervention strategies for the prevention of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) during the performance of autopsies.