Natalia Ruiz: Ergonomics in the Home Workspace

<div class="gmail_default"><span style= "font-family: georgia, serif;">Dr. Natalia <span class= "il">Ruiz</span> is a senior physical therapist at the NYU Langone Orthopedic Center. She has been a physical therapist for 16 years and has worked at the hospital for 14 years in the areas of orthopedic rehabilitation, occupational health, and chronic pain. She currently works in the hand therapy department. She became an American Physical Therapy Association board-certified specialist in orthopedics in 2016 and a board certified hand therapist in 2018. In addition to physical therapy, she also collaborates with the NYU HR department addressing ergonomics for employees, as well as NYU Langone Hospitals Corporative Services with ergonomic consultations for other companies. She received her doctorate in physical therapy at Long Island University and has advanced degrees in Ergonomics from NYU and in hand and upper extremity rehabilitation from Drexel University. </span></div> <div class="gmail_default"><span style= "font-family: georgia, serif;"> </span></div> <div class="gmail_default"><span style= "font-family: georgia, serif;">In this interview, she discusses how to go about making a workspace in the home more comfortable and some ways in which basic ergonomic principles can be applied;  basic instruments and specific analytical tools used to diagnose conditions that require some form of remediation; the role of telehealth in being able to view an individual’s home workspace and also being able to demonstrate techniques involving physical exercise; </span>address<span class= "gmail_default">ing</span> how to recognize bodily strain from prolonged sitting<span class="gmail_default">; health problems that can arise from s</span>itting in an awkward pos<span class= "gmail_default">ition</span> at a computer and having to incorporate speed and repetitive motions <span class= "gmail_default">involved in </span>frequent swipes of <span class="gmail_default">tabloid </span>screens using one’s hands<span class= "gmail_defaul