Overview
Seven rehab experts with a wide range of backgrounds answer three questions about how and why they've integrated ergonomics into their professional work. Their diverse responses highlight why rehab professionals should consider making ergonomics part of their own repertoire.
If you want to compare this cleaned version to the original source that inspired it, you can view the Rehab Management version here: Finding a Good Fit with Ergonomics.
Question 1: How did a career in rehabilitation lead you to ergonomics?
Nancy Bellendorf, OTR/L (Worksafe Therapy & Ergonomics)
Nancy described how early exposure to industrial work sparked her interest. After working in hospital and outpatient settings, she moved into a work hardening center and began job site visits. Seeing how often simple, job-specific changes could reduce soreness and support return to work led her to pursue ergonomics coursework and continuing education. She also emphasized that safety and engineering professionals offer valuable knowledge to share.
Gina Sandoval, PT, DPT, CEAS III (Spine Solutions Inc)
Gina credited her work at Boeing with opening her eyes to industrial rehabilitation and the value of prevention. She contrasted proactive injury prevention with the reactive nature of traditional rehabilitation and highlighted the satisfaction of helping workers stay employed, support families, and keep organizations productive.
Alison Heller-Ono, PT, MSPT, CPE (Worksite International Inc)
Alison described starting with an interest in back safety and work injury rehab and noticing how often injuries repeated without workplace changes. She connected body mechanics and work-safe principles to practical help for both employees and employers. She also noted how the ADA, along with OSHA and NIOSH awareness and the development of Cal-OSHA ergonomics focus, supported her decision to build a company centered on ergonomics.
Scott Ege, PT, MS (Ege WorkSmart Solutions PC)
Scott shared a story of a frustrated patient who improved in therapy but worsened each time he returned to a low workstation at work. After contacting the employer and visiting the site, Scott suggested simple workstation changes, clarified restrictions, and provided more job-specific movement coaching. Within two weeks, the patient returned to full duty pain-free. Scott noted that experience shaped his path and led to thousands of job assessments.
Brian Langenhorst, OTR, CEA (Industrial and ergonomics specialist)
Brian explained how industrial rehab consulting exposed a gap: he could not communicate with employers as effectively as he wanted without engineering, human factors, and ergonomics knowledge. He pursued additional training, transitioned into workers' comp loss control consulting where ergonomics was central, and became board-certified in ergonomics, which expanded his clinical, consulting, and training work.
Bryon Graulich, MSHAC, ATC, PTA, CEAS, CSPHP (Injury Prevention and Ergonomics Sr. Specialist)
Bryon described how an employee health request for ergonomic assessments became the missing link for a question that had frustrated him: why cumulative trauma patients did not recover as fully as expected. As an athletic trainer, he relied on "eyes on" performance feedback. Seeing clients perform work tasks during ergonomic assessments provided the context needed to shape instruction and improve outcomes.
Sandi Sorum, OTR/L, CEAS I
Sandi shared that she worked in outpatient rehab and work hardening early in her career, but there was no formal ergonomic program despite clear need. Through collaboration with a progressive employee health department, an ergonomic program was developed. She emphasized that employee safety is as important as patient safety, and that collaboration can turn a recognized need into a sustainable program.
Your turn
As a rehab professional reading these responses, what common denominators stood out to you? Have you ever been frustrated when workers made progress in therapy but struggled to sustain it after returning to work?
What is one practical step you could take to integrate ergonomics into your current professional work to better serve your patients and clients?
Learn more
If your work involves preventing injuries or improving return-to-work outcomes, job-based documentation and consistent communication are powerful supports. Explore DSI's approach on our Job Function Matching page.
