Surgeons as elite athletes with musician and exercise physiologist Mr. Gil Spitz

This episode of the podcast is sponsored by PearsonRavitz Insurance. You can learn about them and schedule a consultation on my website at: https://pearsonravitz.com/surgicalergonomics/Disclosure: PearsonRavitz is a paid sponsor and the affiliate link above supports the podcast at no cost to you. Episode details:Mr. Gil Spitz was originally a classical musician and shifted his focus to ergonomics and preventative exercise to help musicians with repetitive motion injuries. He furthered his expertise with an MS in Exercise Physiology, researching optimized training for first responders.  In 2019, he joined the Medical ICU team at Baylor/St. Luke's Medical Center, developing and enacting exercise plans for medically compromised patients. Since 2021, he has been with the Liver Transplant Program, implementing a hospital-wide method for assessing transplant patients' physical suitability, providing post-transplant follow-up, and developing a virtual pre-habilitation program to improve outcomes.During this time he has also worked with the surgical staff helping them prevent musculoskeletal and repetitive motion injuries. Gil has worked with providers both on a 1-on-1 basis, addressing specific needs and issues, as well as presenting the topic of OR ergonomics, inter- & intra-op preventative exercises to incoming resident cohorts during an annual bootcamp at Baylor College of Medicine. In this episode Mr. Spitz:- Describes his journey from being a musician playing classical guitar to then building a career as an exercise physiologist- Explains why he likens surgeons to elite athletes, except that little attention is paid to surgeons' recovery period- Emphasizes that surgeons need to pay attention to their sleep hygiene, address inflammation, evaluation by a functional movement specialist (or a PT/OT) to assess muscle imbalances and passive to active stretching- Advises surgeons to prioritize their physical health and protect their investment (time, money and effort spent on training and working on their craft)- Discusses the differences between male and female athletes with respect to strength, mobility and prolonged static tasks and how athlete training programs are actually designed around their menstrual cycles- Shares emerging research in the area of exercise physiology with respect to exercising with blood flow restriction- Emphasizes certain types of maneuvres that pregnant surgeons need to focus on (chin tucks, scapular retraction etc. ) to maintain a more balanced posture- 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 podcastIf 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.