Where and why do we get hurt?

This chart came from a 2002 federal study which allocates the type of injuries firefighters sustain during certain types of activities. Strain, Sprain, and Muscular Pain are the biggest factors to missed days off of work. The most common body part to sustain these injuries is the lower back which can be attributed to a combination of poor body mechanics, decreased core strength, decreased flexibility, decreased activity tolerance/endurance for continuous activity and then there are always the unforeseeable accidents. As we get older a few things happen to our bodies, first the muscles become tighter losing their flexibility which the hamstrings and hip flexors are known for this and causes an increase in pull upon our lumbar spines when performing certain job functions and daily routines. We also start to gain weight and tend to become less active which affects our cardio health and on top of it all off, our muscles eventually start to no longer gain strength unless we work at it. The best workouts to participate in are ones which increase your physical strength for the entire body while utilizing the smaller stabilizing muscles and activates the core muscles. A good exercise program should also look to increase your aerobic and anaerobic conditioning levels since a firefighter is expected to go from sleeping to fitting a fire within minutes. This puts a lot of stress upon the cardiovascular system, which causes it to fluctuate between periods of short to long durations of heavy workloads with periods of rest in between. When looking to exercise, you need to also include nutrition into that program to assure your body has the fuel it needs to function properly to develop strength and not steal from muscle development.