Eyeworld

DECEMBER 2022 | EYEWORLD | 39 C Contact Dhaliwal: dhaliwaldk@upmc.edu Marx: Jeffrey.L.Marx@lahey.org Rubenstein: Jonathan_Rubenstein@rush.edu Snyder: Msnyder@CVPHealth.com technology and prefers to make the chair and microscope modifications. However, she plans to try the technology again in the future. She noted the focus in training on ergonom- ics. "I think people realize that you don't want to stop practicing due to a disability." Jeffrey Marx, MD While Dr. Marx has not had neck or back issues himself, he factored ergonomics into his career early. "My journey with ergonomics started when I was a junior faculty member at Lahey Hospital & Medical Center, and I was one of two retina specialists," he said. "My partner, the oth- er retina specialist, was out for a month for his first carpal tunnel surgery and a couple months later for a second surgery." This prompted Dr. Marx to talk to his partner's physical therapist about how he could avoid injuries, and he start- ed working with physical therapists and other specialists to reduce his risk for problems. Dr. Marx said equipment is important and noted that one challenge is the size of the oper- ating rooms and clinics and how much equip- ment needs to be positioned. In terms of necessities, he always uses an elbow support. "It's important to support the up- per extremities when using lenses," he said. Dr. Marx is also very aware of the "compe- tition" between the patient and the physician. "The patient wants us to move everything forward to them so that they don't have to lean forward, and we want the patient to sit on the edge of the chair and lean forward so we can maintain upright posture," he said. The back support of the chair is incredibly important, Dr. Marx added. "I look at all my chairs before I start the day and make sure that they're for me," he said, adding that he likes a certain chair for his laser procedures that many other colleagues don't prefer. While Dr. Marx said his practice hasn't bought much new equipment, he did insist on ergonomic arms for the computer monitors. In the OR, Dr. Marx said he has access to the NGENUITY system, but he prefers to use the traditional microscope. "I haven't had neck pain in years after operating, and after a few times operating with the NGENUITY as the assistant, I didn't like it," he said. "I think it's great and there are ergonomic benefits, but I personally don't use it," he said. Dr. Marx uses a microscope from Carl Zeiss Meditec with extended oculars, which help him maintain a neutral posture with back support. It comes down to neutral posture, back sup- port, and positioning yourself appropriately, he said. Pain is the warning sign that something in your daily life is causing you to potentially have problems down the road. Decreasing that risk at work is incredibly important, and the flip side of that is taking care of yourself outside of work as well. This includes factors like exercise, diet, good sleep, reducing stress, and building strength in various muscles so you can with- stand the rigors of a long day. Cranking the head of the bed upward can be a significant risk. Using electric beds can help decrease exposure to higher risk activities in the OR environment. Source: Jeffrey Marx, MD

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