WEEK TWO: CORE STRENGTH, BALANCE AND…SPINAL SURGERY?

When Millimeters Matter: Why Strength and Balance Are Critical in the Operating Room

One of the things I’m thinking about in week two is how important core strength and balance are to what I do every day as a spine surgeon.

In surgery, we are standing on our feet for hours, sometimes leaning over a patient, sometimes shifting our weight or essentially standing on one foot to get the angle we need. At the same time, our hands have to be doing incredibly precise work.

Hand-eye coordination is obviously critical in spine surgery. We are operating in an area where millimeters matter, working around the spinal cord, nerves and blood vessels. My eyes are constantly taking in information and my hands have to respond with precision. But those hands don't operate independently from the rest of my body. If my body is unstable, my hands have to compensate for that instability.

My hands need to be absolutely steady, and it all starts from the ground up.

That is why I feel the plank is so important for me. Having a rock-solid core and good balance are critical for being precise in surgery. The stronger and more stable my foundation is, the less energy my body has to spend holding itself in position and the more control I can have over the very small movements that matter. So getting my core strength up is a non-negotiable for me.

So far I have done two plank tests. I did one last week and another one this week, and I’m pleased to report that my plank has increased by about 10 seconds, which is amazing!

Originally, I was so disappointed in my time. Two minutes is not that long for me and shows how much fitness I have lost focusing on work.

But the positive vibes from the instructors helped me realize my thought process was wrong. Everyone deserves to enjoy their own fitness journey and not feel the need to be self-deprecating about where they are starting.

I am going to do a social post about that. It’s supposed to be kind of a funny post, although I am still a little embarrassed that my planking time is so low.

This week I have only been able to go to Hot Yoga Republic twice, which is less than I would like, so hopefully next week I will be able to do more. But I have been noticing that I feel stronger and calmer.

Hot yoga helps me deal with the stress of the day from saving lives and limbs and reboot so I can continue working hard the next day. Surgery requires intense concentration for long periods of time, and I'm interested in whether becoming physically stronger and better at managing stress can also help with endurance and focus in the operating room.

I am really impressed with all the instructors. There are none that I do not think are amazing. Luyba deserves a special shoutout because she has incredible technique, confidence and energy.

What I’m Going to Measure

I have been tracking some vitals and other biometrics, but there are no significant trends yet. It’s only week two, so that’s not surprising.

In the coming weeks, I am going to be looking for improvements in biometrics including blood pressure, heart rate, heart-rate variability, weight, waist circumference and sleep.

I’m also going to be tracking psychometrics—my stress level, how I’m feeling and how those things relate to what I’m doing on a particular day. Do I feel different after a day in surgery versus a day in clinic? Does hot yoga change how quickly I recover from a particularly stressful surgical day? Does my sleep change? Does my HRV eventually reflect what I’m feeling?

And then there are the very practical physical measurements.

I want to continue improving my plank as well as my single-leg stance. Both are particularly interesting to me because they measure core strength and balance—the same physical stability I rely on when I'm operating.

One of my goals is also to lose about five pounds, and I think hot yoga is going to help me with that. I have already noticed enough of a difference to believe that doing class two to three times per week is going to impact my fitness level.

It’s much too early to know what all of these measurements are going to show.

But that’s the point of doing this for a year.

I want to find out whether consistently doing hot yoga can change my strength, balance, cardiovascular health, sleep and stress—and ultimately whether any of those changes show up where they matter most to me: in the operating room.