These individuals as tasked with the job of being the first or in the first group of people to respond in an emergency. Whether that is a motor vehicle accident, structure fire, medical event (i.e. stroke or heart attack), serious incident or anything else needing immediate attention – they are first on scene.
These jobs tend to have long shifts (i.e.. Between 12-24 hours) where they must be on and ready to work in a moment’s notice. Sometimes being woken up while sleeping during a 24-hour shift.
This means a lot of things for their body – both physically and mentally. From my perspective – it means making sure we can do as much as possible to keep the body ready for rapid responses.
This will look different for each person depending on their goals, concerns and job.
Their rehab or pre-hab or maintenance work will vary day to day and will look different on a shift day compared to an off day or a day after shift day. This may also look different depending on how taxing their shift was.
Making sure their plan and program is as variable as their job is. This adapts to what the demand is on the body.
Planning around the demands of work is key to continuing to progress or maintain a level of ability.
A thorough Physiotherapy assessment can help determine and create a plan that keeps you performing at your best.