By FireRescue1 Staff
ADDISON, Texas — A group of firefighters is working to prevent injuries by increasing their strength with a new program.
NBC DFW reported that 18 firefighters attend REACT Neuro Rehab twice a week after their shifts to participate in a new workout regimen meant to strengthen their bodies, and boost their stamina and mobility.
The gym is normally used to rehab patients with spinal or brain injuries, but Ryan Bachik’s new program was designed to prevent injury for first responders.
“What happens if they get into a building and half the stairs are gone and they have to hurdle up something, or when they get on their rigs weighing 50 to 70 pounds heavier with their gear, and then they get off on a call, they’re probably not stepping off on the right way and then their knee caves in?” Bachik said.
Bachik is offering the program free to Addison Fire Department firefighters.
“People in public safety spend a lot of time and energy trying to help other people, but they neglect helping themselves sometimes,” AFD Chief David Jones said. “What Ryan is teaching us to do is focus on ourselves and what we need physically to be able to last for a long time in the career.”
The year-long training is part of a clinical study with the Texas Woman’s University kinesiology department.
“We hope to see that they’re more physically fit and see if they’re more aerobically fit. We want to see if their power has increased, if their flexibility has increased because all these things are very crucial to their job performance,” TWU Assistant Professor Rhett Rigby said.
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