IMELDA TAN, PT
UTICA COLLEGE
Neck and back pain are one of the most debilitating musculoskeletal conditions that impacts our nation’s workforce. This problem has been affecting white-collar workers who sit behind a desk facing a computer screen for prolonged hours during the day. The most common complaints are postural pain due to slouching and poor work setup, low back pain from prolonged sitting, and wrist pain from improper use of the computer mouse and keyboard.
With the advent of technology, office workers are sitting more due to the convenience of telecommuting, conference calls, and …show more content…
This simply means that the amount of time we sit has a direct relationship with jeopardizing our health. The study also emphasized that the risk of prolonged sitting has an inverse relationship with the amount of physical activity an individual performs during the day. For instance, an office worker who spends an hour a day to exercise but sits for at least 10 hours a day at his office may still compromise their health. The study suggested that breaking the time spent on sitting may reduce one’s risk for cardiovascular …show more content…
New York City is the hub of major corporate companies. Employees from these companies can benefit greatly from ergonomic evaluations to reduce risk factors and prevent disability. One notable outpatient facility is New York University (NYU) Langone Medical Center’s Occupational and Industrial Orthopedic Center. The center is comprised of a team of physiatrists, physical therapists, psychologists, nutritionists, ergonomic and biomechanics specialists who educate the workforce and the community in the prevention of occupational injuries, help mentally and physically prepare a worker that was injured to resume work, perform functional capacity evaluations and provide onsite ergonomic assessments for individual and corporate companies (NYUlangone.org, 2015). The center also specializes on research and evidenced-based treatment. This program would be a great help for the prevention of disability and musculoskeletal disorders in the working community. I wasn’t aware that NYU has this particular department and I am excited to share this newly found information with my patients so they can speak to their employers about