The fire service continues to be one of the most hazardous occupations in the world. Its rates of work related injury/illness and fatality far exceed those for most industries. Musculoskeletal injuries account for almost half of all line-of-duty injuries among the millions of firefighter in the U.S.A. These injuries are primarily sprains, strains and muscular pain that mostly affect the back, shoulder and knee.
So what do we do about it? How can we better protect ourselves? It’s simple… GET FIT!
Physical fitness mitigates against physical and mental fatigue, and acts as a mediating variable in the prediction of musculoskeletal injuries. In firefighter terms, the more fit you are the less physical and mental stress will affect you. The less fit you are the more likelihood of injury.
When you review published physical fitness intervention studies in the fire service, with few exceptions, the primary focus has been on cardiovascular risk reduction rather than musculoskeletal injury risk reduction.
So you have to include an injury prevention program as part of your program design, primarily for the back, shoulder and knees.
With back injuries, the gluteal muscles shut down, abdominal/lumbar extensors will be weak and the piriformis (posterior hip) will be tight, so perform some anti-inhibition drills, foam rolling and stretching.
For gluteal strengthening, perform glute bridges and fire hydrants, monster or x-band walks 2 sets of 10-15 reps and make sure the abs stay tight throughout the exercise. Do front and side planks for core stability and endurance along with prone cobras for the extensors, 2 sets of 15 seconds and build up to 1 minute. Make sure the trunk stays perfectly straight. Roll over the posterior hip and glutes with a foam roller to remove adhesions and finish with some stretching for the glutes.
Lack of core stability and endurance is one of the main reason firefighters suffer back injuries.
Doing Y’s, T’s and W’s along with pushup pluses can protect the shoulders. Do these as a circuit for 1 set of 10. Also, reduce overhead lifting, which can create shoulder impingement.
With knee problems the quadriceps and calves will be weak and inhibited. The hamstrings and IT Band will be tight, and there is possibly a loss of dorsiflexion range of motion at the ankle.
So start by foam rolling your quads, hamstrings and IT band and switch to front squats to fire the quads. Start doing ankle mobility drills in your warm up and post workout stretch the hamstrings and IT band along with the quads.
Getting fit and adding some simple exercise can go a long way in making you injury proof.
Monday, December 10, 2007
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Accountability !
"Man must cease attributing his problems to his environment and learn again to exercise . . . personal responsibility."
Albert Schweitzer
Albert Schweitzer
Imbalance
Q: I read that some low back pain is a result of muscle imbalances.
What are the most common imbalances, why does it happen and what can be done about them?
A: The most common dysfunction is a forward tipped pelvis. This is when the front of one or both sides of the pelvis are pulled down.
There are several things that contribute to the creation of this problem. The most common is sitting. We all do it, some more than others. It seems that as technology has advanced and replaced manual labor, more and more people are sitting at their jobs all day long. The more you sit the more likely you are to develop the muscle imbalance in the hips and thighs that creates the forward tipped pelvis dysfunction. This position can lead to low back pain.
The imbalance is created by weak hamstrings, glutes, lower back, lower abdomen, tight hip flexors, quadriceps and lower back.
Very tight muscles or those pulled too much should be stretched daily. And the muscles that are too weak or not pulling enough should be strengthened.
So what to do? Stretch the, hip flexors and quadriceps and
strengthen the lower abdomen, glutes and hamstrings.
What are the most common imbalances, why does it happen and what can be done about them?
A: The most common dysfunction is a forward tipped pelvis. This is when the front of one or both sides of the pelvis are pulled down.
There are several things that contribute to the creation of this problem. The most common is sitting. We all do it, some more than others. It seems that as technology has advanced and replaced manual labor, more and more people are sitting at their jobs all day long. The more you sit the more likely you are to develop the muscle imbalance in the hips and thighs that creates the forward tipped pelvis dysfunction. This position can lead to low back pain.
The imbalance is created by weak hamstrings, glutes, lower back, lower abdomen, tight hip flexors, quadriceps and lower back.
Very tight muscles or those pulled too much should be stretched daily. And the muscles that are too weak or not pulling enough should be strengthened.
So what to do? Stretch the, hip flexors and quadriceps and
strengthen the lower abdomen, glutes and hamstrings.
Sarcopenia....what?
Q: I’m a firefighter in my early fifties, and I try to maintain some level of fitness for the job and be healthy. Recently I noticed I seem to be losing muscle mass. What’s going on?
A: Your may be suffering from sarcopenia. Sarcopenia means age related loss of muscle mass. It is part of the erosion cycle where we get reminded that we’re no longer twenty. It generally starts to set in around age 45, when muscle mass begins to decline at a rate of about 1 percent a year.
Why does sarcopenia happen? So far, the best guess is that it’s caused by a gradual loss of certain nerve cells that link the brain to the muscles; in turn, loss of chemical connections between the two causes a loss of muscle cells themselves. Other age-related declines may play into it as well. For instance, the immune system gradually weakens, and that, some researchers suggest, may increase levels of substances that break down muscle. In addition, levels of hormones that stimulate muscle growth—estrogen, testosterone, and growth hormone—fall with age.
How do we stop it? While you can’t completely halt sarcopenia in its tracks, there’s much you can do to slow it dramatically and thereby remain nearly as active in your 50s and 60s as much earlier in life. So here’s the plan, can you say, strength training? For a couple times a week of strength training—about 30 minutes a session—you get so much back. I can’t emphasize enough how critical it is. Preserving your muscle mass is about more than just keeping up a particular level of fitness. It can also impact your ability to withstand disease. When you’re sick, the body burns protein faster than usual, pulling protein components from the muscles and delivering them to the immune system, liver, and other organs for use in healing wounds and building the antibodies and white blood cells needed to fight illness. If the muscle protein “reservoir” has already been depleted by sarcopenia, there’s that much less ammunition available.
Rest assured that it’s perfectly safe, even for people with conditions like arthritis or heart disease. Get a doctor’s ok before you start, slow down sarcopenia and enjoy the many benefits of strength training.
Remember,” “If you don’t use it, you’ll lose it”.
A: Your may be suffering from sarcopenia. Sarcopenia means age related loss of muscle mass. It is part of the erosion cycle where we get reminded that we’re no longer twenty. It generally starts to set in around age 45, when muscle mass begins to decline at a rate of about 1 percent a year.
Why does sarcopenia happen? So far, the best guess is that it’s caused by a gradual loss of certain nerve cells that link the brain to the muscles; in turn, loss of chemical connections between the two causes a loss of muscle cells themselves. Other age-related declines may play into it as well. For instance, the immune system gradually weakens, and that, some researchers suggest, may increase levels of substances that break down muscle. In addition, levels of hormones that stimulate muscle growth—estrogen, testosterone, and growth hormone—fall with age.
How do we stop it? While you can’t completely halt sarcopenia in its tracks, there’s much you can do to slow it dramatically and thereby remain nearly as active in your 50s and 60s as much earlier in life. So here’s the plan, can you say, strength training? For a couple times a week of strength training—about 30 minutes a session—you get so much back. I can’t emphasize enough how critical it is. Preserving your muscle mass is about more than just keeping up a particular level of fitness. It can also impact your ability to withstand disease. When you’re sick, the body burns protein faster than usual, pulling protein components from the muscles and delivering them to the immune system, liver, and other organs for use in healing wounds and building the antibodies and white blood cells needed to fight illness. If the muscle protein “reservoir” has already been depleted by sarcopenia, there’s that much less ammunition available.
Rest assured that it’s perfectly safe, even for people with conditions like arthritis or heart disease. Get a doctor’s ok before you start, slow down sarcopenia and enjoy the many benefits of strength training.
Remember,” “If you don’t use it, you’ll lose it”.
Firefighter Fatloss
Q: What are 3 good fat loss tips?
A: It depends. If the question is "what are 3 good fat loss tips for an overweight person who isn't exercising?” the answer is going to be different from "what are 3 good fat loss tips for a irefighter who is already lean, lifting, dieting and doing interval training?"... despite there being apparent similarities in the question. For GENERAL fat loss you need to observe some primary goals, including:
1. Burn as many calories as possible through resting metabolic rate. Lean muscle is metabolically active, so building muscle or at least maintaining it is extremely important. You can interpret this to mean that to lose fat, you need to weight train.
2. Burn more calories through increased meal frequency (digestion burns calories). Food has a thermic effect on the body. The more meal frequency, the more your metabolic furnace gets stoked. Not eating breakfast and eating 1 or 2 meals a day keeps your metabolism slow and keeps you fat.
3. Burn more calories through macronutrient manipulation. The thermic effect of protein is twice as high as the thermic effect of fat or carbohydrate — and it adds up! Make protein a focal point of your daily diet. Pick your protein source first and then depending on your whether you’ve done activity or not, add carbs and good fats.
A: It depends. If the question is "what are 3 good fat loss tips for an overweight person who isn't exercising?” the answer is going to be different from "what are 3 good fat loss tips for a irefighter who is already lean, lifting, dieting and doing interval training?"... despite there being apparent similarities in the question. For GENERAL fat loss you need to observe some primary goals, including:
1. Burn as many calories as possible through resting metabolic rate. Lean muscle is metabolically active, so building muscle or at least maintaining it is extremely important. You can interpret this to mean that to lose fat, you need to weight train.
2. Burn more calories through increased meal frequency (digestion burns calories). Food has a thermic effect on the body. The more meal frequency, the more your metabolic furnace gets stoked. Not eating breakfast and eating 1 or 2 meals a day keeps your metabolism slow and keeps you fat.
3. Burn more calories through macronutrient manipulation. The thermic effect of protein is twice as high as the thermic effect of fat or carbohydrate — and it adds up! Make protein a focal point of your daily diet. Pick your protein source first and then depending on your whether you’ve done activity or not, add carbs and good fats.
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