Stretch N’ Bend Exercise Program Aims to Reduce Firefighter Injuries

A guest post by LMCIT Public Safety Specialist Troy Walsh

Fire service is a physically demanding job, and firefighters are often called “tactical athletes” as they require physical training aimed at optimizing their occupational physical and mental performance.  

Firefighters must be prepared at a moment’s notice to respond to an emergency. Their personal protection equipment (PPE) needs to be assembled and ready, apparatuses should be cleaned and organized, and equipment must be fueled or charged for quick deployment, but what about “us” — the firefighters? Are we physically prepared? 

Think like an athlete

An example of physically demanding
firefighter training.

Let’s look at athletes and their preparation for a competition that requires a certain level of physical fitness and skill. Baseball players are frequently stretching their legs and bodies to be ready to make a quick run to first. They play catch to warm-up their arms, shoulders, and wrists since they will need to throw and catch at some point in the game! 

How about you? If you play golf, do you walk up to the first tee box and just tee up the ball and swing away? No, 99% of us will hit the driving range or take a few practice swings at the tee box, while others have a whole routine before they play. If we do this for a game, why aren’t we doing this as firefighters? Remember — firefighters are tactical athletes.

Incorporate physical preparation into your training

There are different staffing models in the fire service, including career firefighters, part-time, paid-on-call, duty-crew, and volunteers. We almost never know when an emergency is going to come in, and it’s sometimes difficult to prepare our bodies for the physical demands of the job. Depending on your staffing model, you can incorporate some physical preparations into your crews. 

Let’s look at training, especially physical training. This should be a controlled environment, and in most cases a lot of preparation is included in a successful training event. The goal of training is to educate members, sharpen-skills, and build muscle memory. If this is such a controlled event, why are sprain & stain injuries the largest claims in firefighter training? Are we preparing for the physical demands of the training event by warming up our bodies for the hands-on skills we are about to complete? 

Again, firefighters are tactical athletes … 

Simple stretches can help prevent injuries

Firefighters do Stretch N' Bend
exercises prior to training.

The League of Minnesota Cities Insurance Trust promotes a Stretch ‘N Bend Program for Public Safety to reduce worker injuries. This program is modeled after the Stretch ‘N Bend Program at Mortenson Construction.

Included in your training plan, you can complete the Stretch ‘N Bend exercises in less than 10 minutes. These quick and easy exercises can be completed during your training briefing, safety review, or a stand-alone practice. 

The goals of the Stretch N’ Bend Program are not only to help reduce —if not eliminate —injuries, but also to prepare your body for work activities, increase flexibility, promote blood circulation, improve range of motion, enhance muscle coordination and body awareness, delay muscle fatigue, and increase team morale.  

Free Stretch ‘N Bend Program PowerPoint

Interested in learning more about the Stretch ‘N Bend program for everyday use within your fire department? Please email me at twalsh@lmc.org and I will send you a free PowerPoint template that outlines the exercise program and can be personalized for your department! 

If you have any questions or comments, please contact me at twalsh@lmc.org or (651) 281-1231. 

Remember: Responder Safety = Public Safety

In the meantime, stay warm and be safe! 

Troy