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October 04, 2011

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First in Fitness
by Bryan Fass

The 'Big 6' on-duty stretches

For a long and healthy career in public safety, start each shift with your gear, truck, and your body in excellent working order

By Bryan Fass

Injury prevention, fitness and wellness are all important aspects of a career in public safety.

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Take it one step further and let's add easier lifting, transferring, moving, carrying, and transporting patients or objects in your job.

One of the key components of achieving all these goals is good flexibility throughout your body. But we are not just talking about just any old stretch when you feel like or remember to do it, we are talking about the six most important stretches to help you do your job better.

Doing these stretches will help you do your job better by giving you the abto move through a full range of motion.

Most injuries occur because you do not move normally and are forced to complete the task at hand any way you can, most likely with poor form. This leads to strain patterns in the body which load the back, knees, shoulders and neck, which ultimately causes tissue failure in the body.

This tissue failure, an overexertion injury, is preventable through good mechanics, and we achieve good mechanics are through full range of motion.

The big six stretches are easy to do on-duty and in uniform. As the video instructs, stretch regularly throughout the day and go through all six stretches after checking the truck off for the day.

For a long and healthy career in public safety, start each shift with your gear, truck, and your body in excellent working order.

About the author


Bryan Fass is the author of "Fit Responder," a comprehensive wellness plan for the first responder (www.fitresponder.com) and the Fit Responder Blog (www.fitresponder.wordpress.com). Bryan has a Bachelor's Degree in Sports Medicine and is certified as a licensed athletic trainer and a strength and conditioning specialist. He was a paramedic for over 8 years, and has authored four books regarding fitness, wellness and human performance. Bryan is available for consulting and speaking on Public Safety Fitness Testing along with Fitness, Wellness and Injury Prevention Programs. Contact Bryan at Bryan.Fass@FireRescue1.com.

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