NL_031518

4 | March 15, 2018 | The New Lenox Patriot News
newlenoxpatriot.com
Keeping the physique while at the workplace
Chamber luncheon
teaches ergonomics,
stretching at work
Amanda Stoll, Assistant Editor
It has been said that sitting
is the new smoking, and
while that comparison is up
for debate the notion that the
majority of people sit too
much is not.
“People are meant to
move,” said Dr. Scott J.
Kenny, a chiropractic physician
and co-owner at the Integrated
Physical Medicine
New Lenox office.
During the Get Fit While
You Sit presentation on
March 6 at the New Lenox
Public Library, which was
sponsored by the New Lenox
Chamber of Commerce, he
talked to local business owners
about the importance for
both themselves and their
employees to get up, move
around and stretch during
the work day.
“Most humans sit way
too much, and with said sitting
too much can end up
having other problems, like
back pain and hip pain and
neck pain and headaches and
migraines and all the things
that nobody wants,” he said
before the presentation.
“We live in a world that
is technologically advanced
and everything that we do
is at a computer or a laptop
or a cellphone in front of us.
Dr. Scott J. Kenny, a chiropractor and co-owner at the Integrated Physical Medicine New Lenox office, spoke to business
owners March 6 during the New Lenox Chamber of Commerce’s Business on the Move Luncheon about the importance
of stretching and moving during the workday for office workers, as well as laborers. Photos by Amanda Stoll/22nd Century
Media
Over time that just brings
in more chances of leaning
forward and slouching and
slumping and all the reasons
people end up in my office.”
Although he said he sees
many patients who have
had workplace injuries from
heavy lifting and construction
jobs, he said he sees
just as many, if not more,
that have injuries from office
work.
Those types of injuries often
involve numbness or tingling
in the hands and/or feet
as well as neck pain, headaches
and migraines. All of
those things are preventable,
according to Kenny, with
proper ergonomic desk set
up, stretched and periodic
movement.
Many of the stretches
and movements he demonstrated
in the presentation
were things that people can
do at their desk to decrease
discomfort, pain and injuries
but also not hamper productivity.
For those who might feel
uncomfortable doing some
of the recommended stretches
at their desk, Kenny said
they simply need to get over
it for their own health’s sake.
“If they don’t make the
changes that they need to
they’re going to end up with
other problems and spend
way too much money on
doctors and spend way too
much money on medication
and technically end up being
less productive at work
because they call in sick
because they have a headache,”
he said.
Emily Johnson, CEO of
the New Lenox Chamber of
Commerce, said the business
on the move topic was
something she though could
resonate with just about
anyone for themselves or
their employees — including
herself.
“I sit most of my day in
the chamber office, so I think
it’s something that rings true
with a lot of our business
owners,” Johnson said. “A
lot of us in our professions
find ourselves sitting, and
when you spend the majority
of your day seated, you’re
not giving your body what
it needs to be in [its] best
health.”
She said it is good to see
companies putting an emphasis
on their employees’
Kenny demonstrates the proper form someone should use when squatting to pick
something up. He said it’s possible for someone to injure their back even when picking up
something as small as a pen or a cellphone if done incorrectly.
health, which not only increases
productivity and reduces
sick days and workers
compensation claims but in
the end could increase business
profits, as well.
“I think in today’s corporate
society, too, that businesses
are really focused
on the health and wellness
of their employees, and if
they’re not they should be
because that’s where you’re
making your money and
that’s where you’re — in
turn as a business owner
— where your livelihood is
coming from.