Everyday we provide patients in the clinic with great body work, a personalized strength and mobility program, and the tools to set them up for success and a pain-free existence. Yet we see the same people come back to us with aches and pains from sitting all day. Even if every patient works out one hour a day, this hardly combats the 12-14 hours of sitting that happens in their balls-to-the-wall work day. We see everyone–from the CEO, to the analyst, to the executive assistant–and they all need help optimizing their posture and work space. We developed a 4-part program to boost morale, heal pain, and bring clarity of mind to their day. Urban Wellness Corporate Solutions brings ergonomic assessments; movement through yoga and strength training; nutrition; and massage into financial and creative institutions throughout midtown Manhattan.

Corporate wellness programs are all the rage right now. Companies vying for the same caliber of talent as Facebook, Google, and Amazon can no longer offer their employees only a great salary, health insurance, and 401k. If you’ve been searching for cost-effective ways to raise employee morale, optimize productivity, reduce healthcare costs, and minimize employee sick days due to back and neck pain, consider our 4-part corporate wellness approach! Our offerings complement and enhance one another to create the most effective health and wellness program for your employees.

1. Get your body moving

You know what the job requires. Your employees sit all day, 12-14 hours a day. You likely do too. The work of today’s world requires stillness, focus, and concentration behind a screen. How do you offset those hours training your body to sit all day? We have solutions! Yoga with a focus on reversing the body’s compensations for prolonged sitting helps employees find a fuller range of motion and strengthens those weak muscles. The icing on the cake: stress relief, mental clarity, and a happier body with fewer tense muscles. At Urban Wellness Corporate Solutions, expect a personalized yoga practice to boost energy and kick-start healing. We offer two options: lay down the mats and sweat it out, or enjoy a  yoga lunch seated around a conference table and learn moves to stay limber while at your desk!

2. Ergonomics: sitting is the new smoking

It’s not rocket science. The way a person sits all the livelong day affects how they feel, even counteracting the positive effects of working out and regular massage. While your employees scrunch themselves into computer-compatible beings, ergonomics is the science of matching the set-up to the employee. Fortune 500 companies bring in certified ergonomic specialists to assess desk, keyboard, mouse, chair, and overall office optimization to enhance the employee’s environment. These workplace and workstation ergonomic assessments go a long way toward revolutionizing your office morale!

At Urban Wellness Clinic, one of the truly invaluable elements of our corporate wellness ergonomic assessments is our medical knowledge of injuries and our strength at coaching good posture. A taste of our simple yet transformative crash course gets to the heart of basic positioning: Ground into the floor with your feet. Make sure your lower back is slightly arched while fully supported. Line your ears up with your shoulders and above your hips. Align your wrists with mouse and keyboard, and elbows at 90 degrees. Take breaks every 50 minutes to optimize and refresh your posture. 

We offer mini ergonomic assessments to individual employees in the clinic. Our doctors and ergonomic experts assess photos of any employee seated naturally at their desk and offer them personalized adjustments. If you shudder at the thought, there’s probably a reason. Poor posture can lead to a tight upper back, headaches, disc herniation in the lower back, a weak core and gluteal muscles, and tight hips and hamstrings. For a thorough and professional assessment of your office, we’ve got what you need, so don’t be shy: ask us anything!

3. Food as medicine to beat the 2pm slump
   

The food a person eats not only affects their appearance and weight, but has an immense impact on mood, attention span, ability to focus, and tolerance for sitting in one place. Your employees’s consumption of nutritious food or lack thereof determines whether they remain sharp and attentive or tired and hazy. Foods high in antioxidants maintain brain health and alertness. Choosing healthy fats, colourful whole foods, and avoiding processed anything sets the body and mind up for success. Our pro nutritionist will lead your entire office through the principles of using food as medicine to heal the body. Think it won’t catch on with your employees? For a deeper dive, we also offer one-on-one nutrition assessments, which include food diary evaluations and replacing not-so-good food choices with optimal ones.

4. Active Release Technique: the gold standard in massage
   

There aren’t enough words to describe the physical and emotional effects of stress on the body. When tension builds without release, upper back and neck tightness along with general stiffness can create a severe muscle imbalance…AND PAIN! Massage helps bring fresh blood and oxygen to the affected areas, in turn repairing soft tissue. It also keeps muscles supple and improves flexibility. At Urban Wellness, we offer on-site deep-tissue medical massage to help you and your employees deal with work-related stress and strain. Happier, healthier, more productive, and less costly staff, who are likely much more pleasant to be around—what better reason to switch positions and take a break?

For more information and pricing on our Corporate Solutions Program and Wellness in the workplace, or to get your workplace assessed by the doctors, contact us at 212-355-0445 or info@urbanwellnessclinic.com!

Best in health,

Dr. Emily Kiberd