Firefighters, police officers, and other workers in physically demanding fields have a higher risk of injury than many other workers. When injuries occur, it can keep those workers from their jobs, from spending time with their families, or doing the things they love.
At MedBridge, we want to keep people on their feet doing what they love. That’s why we developed a new series of exercises designed to help prevent injuries in any workplace, regardless of its physical demands. In this article, we’ll tell you more about these exercises and how to find them in our library so you can assign them to your patients.
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Exercise Content
Our injury reduction exercises consist of 14 exercises developed in partnership with expert physical therapists. These exercises can be categorized into four phases from beginner to advanced. We’ve included simple one-step exercises as well as more complex multi-step exercises, and they’re designed to help increase stability and mobility in major muscle groups.
The full list of exercises is below, and you can find any of these by searching for the name within the HEP Builder.
- Inchworm with Plantar Fascial Stretch
- Sidestep with CLX Band
- Single Leg Dead Lift with CLX Band
- Inchworm with Plantar Fascial Stretch and Push Up
- Walking Knee to Chest with Heel Raise
- Dynamic Forward Lunge with Arm Out Straight
- Sidestep with Kick Back with CLX Band
- Inchworm with Plantar Fascial Stretch, Push Up and Alternating Leg Lift
- Dynamic Forward Lunge with Side Bend
- Sidestep with Kick Back with CLX Band and Arms Out
- Side Plank with Arm and Leg Lift and CLX Band
- Walking Knee to Chest
- Side Plank on Forearm with Arm and Leg Lift
- Single Leg Hop Side to Side
You can also find these exercises using the list filter.
- Head to www.medbridge.com and log in to your account. From your dashboard, hover over Patient Engagement and select Home Exercise Program. From here, you’ll either be taken straight to the builder, or can select a patient and then navigate to the builder.
- Select the List filter on the left-hand side.
- Select Specialty, then select Sports.
- Make sure you’re sorting by most recent to see the latest exercises we’ve added to the library.
Recommended Programs
If you’re looking for a jumping-off point as you’re building a program for your patient, you can use one of the recommended programs below. Search for each of the exercise names listed under each program, or find these exercises using the list filter as described above.
Level 1: Beginner
- Inchworm with Plantar Fascial Stretch
- Walking Knee to Chest
- Sidestep with CLX Band
- Applying CLX Band in for Single Leg Dead Lifts / Single Leg Dead Lift with CLX Band
Level 2: Beginner-Intermediate
- Inchworm with Plantar Fascial Stretch and Push Up
- Walking Knee to Chest with Heel Raise
- Dynamic Forward Lunge with Arm Out Straight
- Sidestep with Kick Back with CLX Band
- Applying CLX Band in for Single Leg Dead Lifts / Single Leg Dead Lift with CLX Band
Level 3: Intermediate-Advanced
- Inchworm with Plantar Fascial Stretch, Push Up and Alternating Leg Lift
- Walking Knee to Chest with Heel Raise
- Dynamic Forward Lunge with Side Bend (Front View)
- Side Plank with Arm and Leg Lift (on elbow)
- Sidestep with Kick Back with CLX Band and Arms Out
- Single Leg Hop Side to Side
Level 4: Advanced
- Inchworm with Plantar Fascial Stretch, Push Up and Alternating Leg Lift
- Walking Knee to Chest with Heel Raise
- Dynamic Forward Lunge with Side Bend (Front View)
- Sidestep with Kick Back with CLX Band and Arms Out
- Side Plank with Arm and Leg Lift (on elbow)
- Side Plank with Arm and Leg Lift and CLX Band
- Single Leg Hop Side to Side
If you think you will use these exercises frequently, consider adding them to a template so you can build the program more easily in the future.
Whether you treat firefighters or office workers, consider assigning these exercises with the MedBridge GO app as a way to help your patients build strength and prevent injury.