Is Sitting the New Smoking?

As the founder of Reach Rehab + Chiropractic Performance Center in Plymouth, Mi, RJ works according to his belief that for you to have a healthy, pain-free lifestyle, you must be responsible for your health by eating well, moving well, and moving often.

RJ received his Doctor of Chiropractic Degree from the National University of Health Sciences (NUHS) and has accrued more than 700 hours of post-graduate work with an emphasis on manual therapy, rehabilitation, biomechanics, nutrition, and movement restoration. He’s earned certifications in Active Release Techniques (ART) and Titleist Performance Institute (TPI) medical track and can sit for the American Chiropractic Rehab Board Diplomate (DACRB) and Certification in Mechanical Diagnosis & Therapy (McKenzie).

He also continually treats recreational and professional athletes at races, tournaments, and competitions.

Ryan Fiorenzi is one of the founders of Start Standing. After suffering from back pain for many years due to his martial arts training, he began researching, consulting with experts, and experimenting with different therapies to eliminate his pain (which he did in nine months). One of the first changes he made to help eliminate low back pain was to use a standing desk converter and then a standing desk.

Since 2015, he has seen dozens of chiropractors, physical therapists, and massage therapists; he's experimented with exercise programs such as crawling, Gynastica Natural, Foundation, several styles of yoga (including Iyengar, which was by far the most helpful), and almost every type of foam roller, psoas massager, inversion table/bar, and contraption to get rid of the pain. He's bought almost every product sold at Relax the Back and has been obsessed with improving his health for many years. He's one of the main testers and writers for Start Standing, constantly testing standing desks, standing desk converters, under-desk treadmills, treadmill desks, and anything else to optimize health.

Ryan graduated from the University of Michigan, owned a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu school in Michigan for over 23 years, is a published author, and has been interviewed by several podcasts for his experience getting rid of his back pain. He's also a meditator, salsa dancer, and wannabe chef.

Brent Gostomski is the founder of Crossfit Forgiven. He has a B.S. in Exercise and Health Services from Alma College where he focused on dietetics, epidemiology, and exercise physiology. He has competed as a bodybuilder and in CrossFit competitions. He has a passion for ergonomics and is passionate about educating anyone he encounters about the dangers of sitting all day.

Dr. Ryan Burke is the owner of Precision Chiropractic and is a Magna Cum Laude Graduate of Life University Doctor of Chiropractic Program, has advanced training in pre-natal adjusting, pediatric adjusting, the Webster Technique, clinical nutrition, spinal correction, nervous system balancing, physiotherapy, functional lab testing and pediatric health disorders, and advanced proficiency certified in Activator Methods Technique.

Ryan specializes in using a "whole person" approach in order to identify underlying causes of patients' problems and develop long-term solutions. His goal is not only to alleviate an individual's symptoms but also to help them achieve maximum health and live a full and vibrant life.

Brad Walker is a Health Science graduate of the University of New England (now Southern Cross University) and has postgraduate accreditations in athletics, swimming, and triathlon coaching.

His stretching and sports injury articles have been published in numerous health and fitness magazines and extensively online at About.com, Athletes.com, and BodyBuilding.com. Magazines such as Runners World, Bicycling, Triathlete, Swimming and Fitness, and Triathlon Sports have all featured his work.

Dr. Alan Hedge has been a professional human factors ergonomist for over 40 years and leads the ergonomics services offered by Humanuse. From 1987-2019 he was a Professor in the Department of Design and Environmental Analysis at Cornell University, where he directed the Human Factors and Ergonomics teaching and research programs.

He has given testimony on indoor air quality and indoor environment design issues to several committees of the US House of Representatives and OSHA in Washington, D.C., to the UK House of Commons, and to the New York State Assembly.

Rebekah Karns currently works at the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center as a postdoctoral fellow in biomedical informatics. She focuses on childhood obesity, and she has a deep understanding on the impact that movement has on productivy and overall health regardless of age.

Before her current role, she graduated from the University of Cincinnati's Doctoral Graduate Program in Molecular Epidemiology and the Preparing Future Faculty Program.

Warren Willey, DO is the Medical Director of a functional medicine clinic in Southeast Idaho.

He is a Board-Certified Osteopathic Physician and did his postgraduate training at The Mayo Clinic.  He's a founding diplomat of the American Board of Holistic Medicine and a diplomat with the American Board of Anti-Aging and Regenerative Medicine, The America Board of Family Medicine, The America Board Urgent Care Medicine and The American Board of Obesity Medicine.

Dr. Willey is highly sought after, dynamic speaker and does regular speaking engagements around the country concerning obesity medicine, laboratory medicine, hormone replacement, and other medical and fitness related topics. He is an established author, having written a medical textbook and many books, including The Z Diet, Better Than Steroids, Obtainable, and What Does Your Doctor Look Like Naked.

Mary Sweeney is a registered nurse and medical writer. With 14 years of experience in healthcare, she has worked in emergency/trauma, post-anesthesia, oncology navigation, and military medicine.

Mary is a lieutenant in the United States Navy and acted as a sexual assault nurse examiner while deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. She has trained extensively in preventing sexual harassment and assault in the workplace and is active in victim advocacy.

Amberlie Price has been teaching yoga since 2009. She teaches Vinyasa yoga as well as other fitness classes including HIIT, dance, and bootcamp.  She currently teaches in Northeast Ohio.

Karen Frank Barney, Ph.D., OTR/L, FAOTA, Professor and Chair Emerita, Saint Louis University, has over 50 years of experience as an occupational therapist and teacher.

She has worked in many places, including Wisconsin, Kentucky, Missouri, and Guatemala. She founded the Transformative Justice Initiative at Saint Louis University and continues to mentor Doctorate Occupational Therapy students. She has been a professor for 37 years and was the primary faculty for aging-related studies at three universities, including the occupational therapy expert for the Geriatric Education Center at Saint Louis University for 22 years.

Joel Fuhrman, M.D. is a board-certified family physician, seven-time New York Times bestselling author, and nutritional researcher who specializes in preventing and reversing disease through nutritional and natural methods. Dr. Fuhrman is the President of the Nutritional Research Foundation. His work and discoveries are published in medical journals, and he is involved with multiple nutritional studies with major research institutions across America.

Dr. Fuhrman runs the Eat to Live Retreat in San Diego, California and takes over the medical care for his guests, enabling them to transform their lives as they recover from diabetes, heart disease, autoimmune disease, cancer and other serious conditions.

Dr. Fuhrman has appeared on hundreds of radio and television shows. Through his own hugely successful PBS specials, which have raised more than $50 million for public broadcasting stations, he has brought nutritional science to homes across America and around the world.

His seven New York Times bestsellers: include: Eat for Life (HarperOne, 2020), Eat to Live (Little Brown, 2003; updated, 2011); Super Immunity (HarperOne, 2012); The End of Diabetes (HarperOne, 2013); The Eat to Live Cookbook (HarperOne, 2013); The End of Dieting (HarperOne, 2014) and The End of Heart Disease (HarperOne, 2016).

He is also the author of a series of Transformation 20 guides to health and weight loss. The titles include: Transformation 20 Diabetes; Transformation 20: Blood Pressure and Cholesterol; Transformation 20: Infection Protection in 20 Days; 10 in 20: Lose 10 Pounds in 20 Days Detox Program; 10 in 20: More of What You Love; 10 in 20 Made Simple; and 10 in 20: Emergency Weight Loss Program. 

Matt co-founded Start Standing and has battled lower back pain after ten years of sitting at a desk and lack of moment while working. After the experience of incorporating standing and movement into his office life, he's improved his pain significantly.

Matt is one of the main product testers and researchers at Start Standing. Over the years, he has become an advocate and expert on alternative office furniture and tools that help reduce pain derived from sitting and add movement to desk life.

Aaron Karns has a Bachelor of Economics from Eastern Michigan University and a master's degree in international economics. He did market research for 6 years, where he conducted focus group testing for products. He's one of our main product testers and researchers.

Aaron is an outdoor enthusiast. He enjoys mountain biking, camping, and is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu enthusiast.