Dr. Deborah Alperovitch

School of Public Health
ביה"ס לבריאות הציבור עמית הוראה
Dr. Deborah Alperovitch
Office: Sackler School of Medicine

Positions

  • Head of Physical Therapy Service, Geriatric Center Hadasim Benei-Braq.
  • Ergonomics consultant, A-Ergo, Ergonomic Solutions.
  • Research consultant, Lide Assistant Ltd.
  • Adjunct Lecturer, Department of Physical Therapy, Recanati School for Community Health Professions, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel.
  • Teaching Fellow, Department of Occupational & Environmental Health, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel

Biography

Dr. Deborah Alperovitch-Najenson was exposed to the area of ergonomics during the eighties, while working as a physiotherapist in Sweden. She began to specialize in ergonomics and work-related musculoskeletal pain during the nineties, parallel to her Master's degree at the Tel Aviv University which included a thesis on the subject: “Handgrip strength as a diagnostic tool in work-related upper extremity musculoskeletal disorders in women”. Further through her PhD thesis on the subject: “A morphological characterization of the lumbar spine and low back muscles in individuals with chronic low back pain: An imaging study”.

Dr. Alperovitch-Najenson begun to lecture 20 years ago in Tel Aviv University, first in the Physical Therapy department, then at the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, and in the last three years at the Physical Therapy Department at Ben Gurion University of the Negev. Over the years she lectured in the field of ergonomics in both universities, as well as giving post graduate courses in ergonomics. Through the years she built a concept design for ergonomic products and systems for several companies. She guided and is guiding students for thesis. She won a number of grants for ergonomic studies through the preventive action belonging to the Ministry of Economics of Israel.

Dr. Alperovitch-Najenson took part in the establishment of Lifeassistant, a company which is developing products that assist disabled people to sit and stand. The company gained twice financial support from the Chief Scientist of the Ministry of Economics of Israel. She serves as a company's research consultant.  

For the last 20 years Dr. Alperovitch-Najenson is also the director of the Physiotherapy Department in the Center of Nursing Service "Hadasim" in Beney Brak, Israel, containing approximately 400 beds.

Research Interests

  • Ergonomics.
  • Work-related musculoskeletal pain.
  • Physical Therapy
  • Spinal column.

Selected Publications

Click here for a complete list of Dr. Alperovitch-Najenson's Peer-Reviewed Articles.

  1. Alperovitch-Najenson D, Carmeli E, Coleman R, Ring H. Handgrip strength as a diagnostic tool in work-related upper extremity musculoskeletal disorders in women. ScientificWorldJournal. 2004 Mar 3;4:111-7. 
  2. Masharawi YM, Alperovitch-Najenson D, Steinberg N, Dar G, Peleg S, Rothschild B, Salame K, Hershkovitz I. Lumbar facet orientation in spondylolysis: a skeletal study. Spine (Phila Pa 1976). 2007 Mar 15;32(6):E176-80.
  3. Masharawi Y, Dar G, Peleg S, Steinberg N, Alperovitch-Najenson D, Salame K, Hershkovitz I. Lumbar facet anatomy changes in spondylolysis: a comparative skeletal study. Eur Spine J. 2007 Jul;16(7):993-9. Epub 2007 Feb 15.
  4. Alperovitch-Najenson D, Santo Y, Masharawi Y, Katz-Leurer M, Ushvaev D, Kalichman L. Low back pain among professional bus drivers: ergonomic and occupational-psychosocial risk factors. Isr Med Assoc J. 2010 Jan;12(1):26-31.
  5. Alperovitch-Najenson D, Katz-Leurer M, Santo Y, Golman D, Kalichman L. Upper body quadrant pain in bus drivers. Arch Environ Occup Health. 2010 Oct-Dec;65(4):218-23. doi: 10.1080/19338244.2010.486422.
  6. Abbas J, Hamoud K, May H, Peled N, Sarig R, Stein D, Alperovitch-Najenson D, Hershkovitz I. Socioeconomic and physical characteristics of degenerative lumbar spinal stenosis individuals. Spine (Phila Pa 1976). 2013 Feb 1.
  7. Alperovitch-Najenson D, Treger I, Kalichman L. Physical therapists versus nurses in a rehabilitation hospital: comparing prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal complaints and working conditions. Arch Environ Occup Health. 2014;69(1):33-9. doi: 10.1080/19338244.2012.719555.
  8. Alperovitch-Najenson D, Sheffer D, Treger I, Finkels T, Kalichman L. Rehabilitation versus Nursing Home Nurses' Low Back and Neck-Shoulder Complaints. Rehabil Nurs. 2015 Sep-Oct;40(5):286-93. doi: 10.1002/rnj.172. Epub 2014 Jul 17.
  9. Weiner C, Alperovitch-Najenson D, Ribak J, Kalichman L. Prevention of Nurses' Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders Resulting From Repositioning Patients in Bed: Comprehensive Narrative Review. Workplace Health Saf. 2015 May;63(5):226-32; quiz 233. doi: 10.1177/2165079915580037.
  10. Milhem M, Kalichman L, Ezra D, Alperovitch-Najenson D. Work-related musculoskeletal disorders among physical therapists: A comprehensive narrative review. Int J Occup Med Environ Health. 2016;29(5):735-47. doi: 10.13075/ijomeh.1896.00620. Review.
  11. Kalichman L, Frenkel-Toledo S, Vered E, Sender I, Galinka T, Alperovitch-Najenson D, Ratmansky M, Treger I. Effect of kinesio tape application on hemiplegic shoulder pain and motor ability: a pilot study. Int J Rehabil Res. 2016 Sep;39(3):272-6. doi: 10.1097/MRR.0000000000000167.
  12. Kalichman L, Alperovitch-Najenson D, Treger I. The impact of patient's weight on post-stroke rehabilitation. Disabil Rehabil. 2016 Aug;38(17):1684-90. doi: 10.3109/09638288.2015.1107640. Epub 2016 Jan 10.
  13. Ezra D, Masharawi Y, Salame K, Slon V, Alperovitch-Najenson D, Hershkovitz I. Demographical aspects in cervical vertebral bodies' size and shape (C3-C7): a skeletal study. Spine J. 2016 Aug 17. pii: S1529-9430(16)30883-X. doi: 10.1016/j.spinee.2016.08.022.
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