Public Safety Wellness and Injury Prevention
Developing and implementing an Injury Prevention and Wellness Curriculum
We realize that the needs of each county-agency-department vary. Our programs are not pre-packaged, we design each program specifically for the needs of each agency based on financial, time, size and continuing education constraints.
TARGET: To provide a series of Lectures and Wellness/Injury Prevention Consulting following the principles of the Fit Responder Program.
- To demonstrate the need for preventative exercise to alleviate the postural distortions inherent to Public Safety.
- To teach the simple techniques of self massage and on duty stretching for all field crews.
- To show how a simple approach to wellness will help decrease weight and alleviate stress.
- To demonstrate exercises that are not only fun but will increase agility, balance, and combat obesity.
- To show a series of simple techniques that will significantly reduce the risk of injury.
- To set up a cost effective fitness area in each station.
Establishing fitness, wellness and good nutrition habits is the common denominator for a healthy and productive life. The need to be fit and healthy in Public Safety calls for a non-traditional approach to be developed. This approach should consider (1) safe exercises that will not contribute to injury (2) the specific biomechanics of PS (3) on duty fitness to make use of time in between calls (4) wellness strategies for stress reduction and proper nutrition (5) spine and core stabilization exercises to reduce the risk of injury.
Studies show that at any one time as many as 10% of a work force is out with an injury, with the average cost of Lower back injury at $9,000 per occurrence. Additional studies have shown that 49% of surveyed Responders have sustained an injury and not reported it in the last 6 months; statistically this will result in a more severe injury. An estimated 8.1 of every 100 emergency responders will suffer an injury or illness forcing them to miss work, compared to the national average of 1.3 for general labor. Employers who invest in worksite health promotion and injury prevention programs can see a return of $3-$6 for every dollar invested over a 2-5 year period. Documented savings are observed in medical costs, absenteeism, worker's comp claims, short-term disability and presenteeism (lower on-the-job efficiency due to employee health problems.)
Instructing all first responders on stretching, self massage, basic spine, and core stabilization techniques will begin the process of implementing an injury prevention initiative into your agency. Focusing on simple and effective wellness strategies will produce a healthier and leaner employee with better morale, fewer health problems and increased productivity. Injury prevention should be for retention of employees, once they've devoted time to the profession, we don't want them to leave because they became injured.
The steps of the Fit Responder programs are logical and easy to follow. Once in place the testing and re-testing of employees can be reproduced by a specifically trained officer or designee within your department or annual retesting weeks can be scheduled.
- Postural analysis, active and passive range of motion, Movement screen, stability testing and muscular endurance testing.
- individually designed corrective strategies to correct postural dysfunction, faulty movement patterns and muscular imbalances that are common to public safety employees.
- Encompassing stress reduction, sleep pattern disruption, power foods, antioxidant foods and just good healthy nutrition to combat obesity and oxidative stresses on the body.
- Effective, safe, scientifically based and biomechanically sound exercises to prevent injury and increase responder agility, stability and muscular endurance. Nothing fancy just effective exercise with little or no equipment needed. Simple exercise progressions will be designed and followed by your staff/officers to ensure that postural distortion and muscle imbalances do not reoccur throughout the year.
- Yearly re-screening and health analysis to ensure that your employees stay healthy and fit.
Ask about our additional Programs
- Uniform Fitness:
Simple and effective strategies to stay in shape, feel better and
decrease the risk of injury. (Lecture/Classroom)