Cubicle Warrior Ergonomics and Preventive Pain Management

As the exclusive chiropractor for Electronic Arts Los Angeles since 2005, Dr. Lynn Kerew D.C. sees employees of the corporate gaming giant with back to back appointments every week. These programmers, testers, developers and executives all spend countless hours in front of monitors creating some of the most popular games on the planet including the Madden NFL and Tiger Woods video game franchises. With her long standing chiropractic practice in Santa Monica and her Masters Degree in Public Health, Dr. Kerew was the obvious and ideal choice for EA’s busy corporate environment.

According to the American Chiropractic Association, 80% of the population will experience a back problem at some time in their lives. Back pain is one of the most common reasons for missed work and half of all working Americans admit to having back pain each year. Most cases of back pain are mechanical or non-organic in nature and not caused by serious conditions. According to a 2006 survey over 40 million Americans work year in and year out in cubicles.

With the economy in its current state and interest in preventive care getting a big push from the Obama Administration’s health care reform, more and more people are concerned about cutting down on healthcare costs. Dr. Kerew advises engaging in a few simple activities to keep people from missing work due to a history of bad ergonomics at the workplace. This includes how we sit, how we type, how we exercise and stretch those parts of our bodies under the most duress at work: our eyes, wrists, shoulders, feet, neck and back. This focus on preventive medicine is essential to increasing productivity while greatly reducing health care costs that can accrue from prescription pain medications or even surgery.

Dr. Lynn utilizes the Insight Subluxation Station to provide State-Of -The-Art Surface Thermography and Surface EMG visual back scans for the employees quarterly along with lunchtime talks on health and fitness. This provides objective and visual information to the employees about the cause of any postural imbalance, pain or stiffness they may be experiencing. She works side by side with EA’s fitness center director and personal trainers. This provides the employee with comprehensive fitness and chiropractic care to meet the challenging needs of long hours at the computer to hammer out the tough deadlines and stress each employee faces with being in a fast paced competitive company like EA. “Working at a computer all day can wreak havoc on the human body over time,” said Dr. Kerew. “The human body was not designed to sit in one place all day, but often our careers demand that we do, so I usually provide a number of recommendations for my patients to keep them out of pain and functional ranging from unsound habitual personal habits (keeping a wallet in back pocket or carrying a heavy purse) to more sustainable work, sleep and leisure ergonomics. Often I will suggest my favorite types of ergonomic/postural support products.” Dr. Kerew’s Advice on daily work habits:

• Move! — At least once an hour get up from whatever you are doing and go somewhere else for 5 minutes, whether it’s to the bathroom, the water cooler, a colleague’s office or for a lap around the office. Your body was designed to move; denying it this can result in painful consequences.
• Sit up straight – slouching in your chair all day is one of the worst things you can do. Remember to sit up straight, try to use a chair with no arms so you can sit as close to the desk as possible; this keeps you from having to lean towards your keyboard. A simple foot rest can help too.
• Look around – Staring at a computer screen too long is bad for your eyes and can contribute to slouching. Be sure to look around and focus on other objects in your environment from time to time. A glare screen or special computer glasses can help reduce the strain on your eyes as well.

Dr. Lynn Kerew, D.C., M.P.H. is the founder of Lynn Kerew Chiropractic A.P.C. located in Santa Monica, California. Dr. Lynn Kerew, D.C. , M.P.H. is a graduate of Cleveland Chiropractic College in Los Angeles, CA where she was nominated for Who’s Who among Students in American Colleges and Universities. She also holds a Master’s Degree in Public Health (M.P.H.) from the University of California, Los Angeles and a Baccalaureate degree (B.S.) in Nutrition from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Dr. Kerew is a member of the International Chiropractic Association, the California Chiropractic Association and Chiropractic Leadership Alliance. She is the official chiropractor of citymommy.com. For more practical tips on ergonomics and preventive pain management check out www.lynnkerew.com