This episode of the podcast is sponsored by NekSpine. You can learn about them and schedule a demo via https://nekspine.com/nekspine-special-offer-surgical-ergonomics-podcast/

Disclosure:

NekSpine is a paid sponsor and the affiliate link above supports the podcast at no cost to you.

Episode details:

In the operating room, ergonomics is often viewed as an individual responsibility—adjust your posture, raise the table, take a microbreak. But what if preventing injury requires something much bigger than individual habits?

About Our Guest:

Dr. Fahad Alam is an anesthesiologist, medical education researcher, and leader in clinical ergonomics research at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and the University of Toronto. Together, we explore the emerging concept of team ergonomics and why improving the physical, cognitive, and organizational environment of the operating room requires every member of the surgical team. Drawing from groundbreaking research conducted with Dr. Julie Hallet and colleagues, Dr. Alam discusses the alarming prevalence of musculoskeletal pain among operating room professionals, the lack of formal ergonomics education across healthcare training, and how psychological safety influences whether clinicians feel comfortable speaking up about ergonomic concerns. We also discuss innovative approaches to changing OR culture through simulation, virtual reality, ergonomic checklists, and team communication strategies that have the potential to improve both clinician well-being and patient safety. Whether you're a surgeon, anesthesiologist, nurse, trainee, or healthcare leader, this episode highlights why ergonomics should be viewed as a shared responsibility—and how small changes in teamwork may have a lasting impact on career longevity.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• Why musculoskeletal pain affects the majority of operating room professionals—not just surgeons.
• How physical strain, cognitive workload, and organizational culture all contribute to ergonomic risk.
• Why ergonomics should be viewed as a team responsibility rather than an individual problem.
• What Dr. Alam's research revealed about the prevalence of pain and the lack of ergonomics education among OR staff.
• How psychological safety influences whether clinicians feel comfortable speaking up about ergonomic concerns.
• The role of simulation training and virtual reality in teaching team ergonomics.
• How ergonomic checklists and communication frameworks may improve teamwork and reduce injury risk.
• Practical ways surgeons, anesthesiologists, nurses, and trainees can support one another during cases.
• Why investing in team ergonomics has the potential to improve clinician well-being, performance, and patient safety.

Resources

You can reach Dr. Fahad Alam via:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fahad-alam-244796152/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dr.alam_md/?hl=en

Publications discussed in this episode:

The Society of Surgical Ergonomics publications on team ergonomics and the SORE (Simulation for Operating Room Ergonomics) Study. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39502068/ and https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40794621/

Previous episode with Dr. Julie Hallet on surgical ergonomics. https://surgicalergonomics.com/2025/08/25/team-ergonomics-and-the-ergonomics-time-out-with-dr-julie-hallet/

Follow Surgical Ergonomics on LinkedIn, X, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube please reach out to us if you have any suggestions regarding episode ideas and guests or if you'd like to be a guest on the podcast

If you found this episode valuable, please share it with a colleague or your perioperative team to help bring greater awareness to the role of ergonomics in career longevity. If you're enjoying the podcast, I'd be grateful if you left a review on your favorite podcast platform. Your reviews help others discover the show and support our mission of improving the health and longevity of surgeons and proceduralists worldwide.

Episode Details:

Many surgeons and proceduralists live with chronic neck, shoulder, jaw, or headache pain without realizing that the true source may lie elsewhere.

In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Hannah Park, fellowship-trained headache neurologist and founder of Park Your Headache, to explore the fascinating world of myofascial pain. Hannah shares her deeply personal journey from aspiring concert pianist whose career was ended by repetitive strain injuries to becoming a physician dedicated to helping others with chronic pain.

Together, we discuss why so many healthcare professionals struggle to obtain an accurate diagnosis, why imaging is often normal despite severe symptoms, and how understanding trigger points, referred pain, and muscle compensation patterns can transform treatment.

Whether you're a surgeon, proceduralist or anyone living with persistent muscle pain, this conversation will help you better understand your body, and why effective treatment often requires looking beyond where it hurts.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• Why myofascial pain is frequently overlooked or misdiagnosed

• How repetitive strain and sustained postures create chronic muscle dysfunction

• Why trigger points can produce pain far away from their actual location

• The relationship between headaches, neck pain, jaw pain, and trapezius muscle dysfunction

• Why normal imaging doesn't rule out significant pain

• The importance of finding clinicians with specialized expertise in headache medicine and myofascial pain

• How injection therapies fit into a comprehensive treatment approach

• Why chronic pain develops over years—and why recovery also requires patience

• The surprising similarities between musicians, surgeons, and other high-performance professionals

Resources Learn more about Dr. Hannah Park:

Website: www.parkyourheadachenj.com

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/hannah-l-park-m-d-b555b729b

Follow Surgical Ergonomics on LinkedIn, X, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube please reach out to us if you have any suggestions regarding episode ideas and guests or if you'd like to be a guest on the podcast

If you found this episode valuable, please share it with a colleague or your perioperative team to help bring greater awareness to the role of ergonomics in career longevity. If you're enjoying the podcast, I'd be grateful if you left a review on your favorite podcast platform. Your reviews help others discover the show and support our mission of improving the health and longevity of surgeons and proceduralists worldwide.

This episode of the podcast is sponsored by Smart Step Surgical LLC. You can learn about them and schedule a demo via https://www.smartstepsurgical.com/blogs/news/surgical-ergonomic-podcast-promotional-discount

Disclosure:

Smart Step Surgical is a paid sponsor and the affiliate link above supports the podcast at no cost to you. They also provide our podcast listeners with a discount (20%), so we hope that it is a win-win!

Episode details:

What starts as "just another ache" can gradually become a career-ending injury. Whether you're early in training or decades into practice, this episode is a reminder that taking care of your body isn't a luxury—it's an investment in your career longevity.

About Our Guest

Dr. Melanie Seybt is a board-certified Otolaryngologist with fellowship training in head and neck endocrine surgery. She has been on faculty at the Medical College of Georgia as an Assistant professor where she also served as the co-director of the MCG Thyroid Center. She subsequently practiced as a high volume thyroid and parathyroid surgeon with Palmetto ENT and Allergy in South Carolina. After years in practice, repetitive work-related shoulder injuries ultimately forced her into early retirement from clinical work. She now advocates for greater awareness of surgical ergonomics, career longevity, and protecting surgeons from preventable musculoskeletal injuries.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• Why persistent shoulder pain should never be dismissed as "part of being a surgeon."
• How repetitive overhead work contributed to multiple rotator cuff tears and failed repairs.
• The hidden ergonomic challenges faced by many ENT and endocrine surgeons.
• Why women surgeons may face additional ergonomic risks related to stature, equipment design, and midlife hormonal changes.
• How small ergonomic changes, such as proper positioning and height adjustments, might reduce long-term injury risk.
• Why surgeons often delay seeking care, underestimate recovery time, and continue working despite significant injury.
• The emotional impact of losing a surgical identity and navigating medical retirement.
• What every surgeon should know about disability insurance, documentation, and protecting their future career.

Follow Surgical Ergonomics on LinkedIn, X, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube please reach out to us if you have any suggestions regarding episode ideas and guests or if you'd like to be a guest on the podcast

If you found this episode valuable, please share it with a colleague or your perioperative team to help bring greater awareness to the role of ergonomics in career longevity. If you're enjoying the podcast, I'd be grateful if you left a review on your favorite podcast platform. Your reviews help others discover the show and support our mission of improving the health and longevity of surgeons and proceduralists worldwide.