Introduction and purpose: Fatigue leads to various disruptions in the musculoskeletal system. Specifically, it has been observed that fatigue disturbs perception of the position of the limbs and the spine as well as posture balancing control and gait kinematics. The purpose of this study is to determine whether orientation of the pelvis undergoes changes after a period of extreme work-related fatigue.

Materials and methods: Orthopaedic Surgery residents in our hospital often work 24-hour shifts in the emergency department, which is considered a tiring activity which constitutes an appropriate model for professional burnout. In order to assess the position of the pelvis, we used pelvis tilt on the sagittal plane which is defined as the inclination of the plane which runs through all four anterosuperior and posterosuperior iliac spines with respect to the horizontal. The pelvic tilt of 19 resident doctors was measured at the beginning of their shifts, 16 hours into their shifts and on completing their 24-hour shift. An analysis was made of the differences between the values obtained and the influence of gender, weight and body mass index.

Results: Fatigue caused by 16 and 24 hour shifts in the emergency department led to a mean decrease in pelvic tilt of 1.1° (significant p=0,014) and 1.6° (significant p=0,003) respectively.

Conclusions: The fatigue caused to resident doctors by their shifts in the emergency department leads to significant pelvic retroversion.