“Micro Breaks” with Stretching Enhance Surgeon Physical Function and Focus
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Re: “Micro Breaks” with Stretching Enhance Surgeon Physical Function and Focus
#2Related to RSI in computer workers?
Re: “Micro Breaks” with Stretching Enhance Surgeon Physical Function and Focus
#3I credit micro breaks and stretching as the main reason I got over my severe RSI [1]. Never really heard that surgeons had similar problems though, but I guess it is the same mechanism - too much fine motor action for too long without a break.
Re: “Micro Breaks” with Stretching Enhance Surgeon Physical Function and Focus
#4I'm intrigued by these sorts of studies - not coming from a statistical background I'm amazed by how few samples they need to draw conclusions. If you told me you only had 341 events in your A/B test I'd be suspicious of the results you were claiming. (Note: I don't do A/B tests professionally so I may not know what I'm talking about...)
They do mention " Random coefficient mixed models accounted for surgeon variability" in the summary so maybe that's sufficient.
Re: “Micro Breaks” with Stretching Enhance Surgeon Physical Function and Focus
#5What do these 1.5-2m standardized targeted stretching micro breaks (TSMB's) entail exactly? What kind of stretching exercises?
Re: “Micro Breaks” with Stretching Enhance Surgeon Physical Function and Focus
#6I credit micro breaks and stretching as the main reason I got over my severe RSI [1]. Never really heard that surgeons had similar problems though, but I guess it is the same mechanism - too much fine motor action for too long without a break. [1] https://henrikwarne.com/2012/02/18/how-i-beat-rsi/
This was an unexpected benefit of the Pomodoro technique for me. I ended up walking around during the forced breaks and it definitely reduced the physical stresses imposed by coding days.
Re: “Micro Breaks” with Stretching Enhance Surgeon Physical Function and Focus
#7Since the outcome metrics (pain) are self-reported, this study was essentially unblinded, right? That may simply be an inherent limitation that can't be avoided in this sort of study, but worth noting it opens up the door for a placebo effect.
Re: “Micro Breaks” with Stretching Enhance Surgeon Physical Function and Focus
#8Since the outcome metrics (pain) are self-reported, this study was essentially unblinded, right? That may simply be an inherent limitation that can't be avoided in this sort of study, but worth noting it opens up the door for a placebo effect.
To some extent, isn't the placebo effect good enough?
If my goal is to feel more focused, that's an inherently subjective thing. If I feel like I'm more focused, I am more focused. So the placebo effect and a more objectively observed result are essentially the same here.
Re: “Micro Breaks” with Stretching Enhance Surgeon Physical Function and Focus
#9Since the outcome metrics (pain) are self-reported, this study was essentially unblinded, right? That may simply be an inherent limitation that can't be avoided in this sort of study, but worth noting it opens up the door for a placebo effect.
To some extent, isn't the placebo effect good enough? If my goal is to feel more focused, that's an inherently subjective thing. If I feel like I'm more focused, I am more focused. So the placebo effect and a more objectively observed result are essentially the same here.
Isn't part of the problem with placebo is that it's unreliable?
Eg, if you can give me a way to achieve some amazing pain relief as a result of placebo, every time, it feels to me like this crosses the line from placebo to medicine.
The mind can do some crazy things, but we need to make it do these things reliably. I don't want a placebo form of anesthesia only to have it not work mis surgery haha. If however you can replace anesthesia with a placebo (purely as an example).. i almost feel like it's real medicine then. A technique to replace chemicals sure, but testable and reliable.
Re: “Micro Breaks” with Stretching Enhance Surgeon Physical Function and Focus
#10Since the outcome metrics (pain) are self-reported, this study was essentially unblinded, right? That may simply be an inherent limitation that can't be avoided in this sort of study, but worth noting it opens up the door for a placebo effect.
To some extent, isn't the placebo effect good enough? If my goal is to feel more focused, that's an inherently subjective thing. If I feel like I'm more focused, I am more focused. So the placebo effect and a more objectively observed result are essentially the same here.
> If I feel like I'm more focused, I am more focused.
But the end goal is almost never to feel more focused, the end goal is to (say) accomplish a task faster or more accurately. And there are definitely placebo interventions that make people feel like they are doing things better without actually doing anything better.
Likewise, in this case, the end goal is for the surgeons to have a longer career. It's easy to imagine a placebo intervention that makes one feel better, but doesn't actually reduce wear-and-tear on joints, and hence doesn't prolong one's career.
Also, like the other commenter said: placebo effects are often less reliable or generalizable outside the specific context of the study. They may be motivated by, e.g., a subconscious desire to please the experimenter which goes away in real-life circumstances. Actual physiological interventions are much less likely to do this.