A Tale of Two Hygienists is back at it with its series on ergonomics, focusing now on the subdermal tissues that stretch from one end of our body to the other and feel the brunt of bad posture. Michelle spoke with two hygienists who now serve as teachers and instruct the new generation of RHDs on the finer points of ergonomics and the importance of continual exercise.
Aubreé Chismark, RDH, worked in private practice for a decade, went back to grad school, and has now been teaching at West Coast University for ten years. Tracy Ross, RDH, has worked in dental hygiene for over 20 years. She spent most of her career in private practice before beginning to feel the consequences of years of poor ergonomics. She now works alongside Aubreé.
In this episode, Aubreé and Tracy discuss what you can do to ensure your body will still be in good working order by the time you’re retired, examine the myriad little choices that contribute to good ergonomics, and help you understand the connective tissue that keeps everything in your body working smoothly.
EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS:
Interview starts: 14:38
– Aubreé’s inventive method of keeping students active during lecture sessions.
– How Aubreé and Tracy became interested in ergonomics, and which parts of dental hygienists’ bodies usually experience ergonomic pain.
– What are some of the most common ergonomic mistakes hygienists make?
– Looking at the causes and effects of sciatica.
– The role fascia plays in keeping your body in working order.
– Tracy leads us through an exercise that will pinpoint high-stress locations in our bodies and “train” our fascia.
QUOTES:
“It’s how we treat our body and train our body to hold us through those eight hours a day.”
“I actually found that after a yoga class, my pain was either significantly reduced or gone.”
“The pain actually starts while students are in school.”
“It’s necessary through movement that we keep our fascia healthy. There’s no other way to keep it healthy.”
“You don’t have to break a sweat in order to get the benefits of muscle movement.”
LINKS:
Aubreé’s email: yoga4dental@gmail.com
Yoga for Dental Professionals: https://yoga4dental.com/
Tracy’s email: trross@westcoastuniversity.edu
Rimshot noise by djlprojects: https://freesound.org/people/djlprojects/sounds/415215/
THIS EPISODE COUNTS FOR CE! – but read the disclaimer below as it might not count for your state.
Go here to take the test and get your CE Credit!
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