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OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY

Against the ropes: Challenges in SAR training

A team of rescuers practice lowering a patient from the second floor of a four-storey building. Photo Credit: Ric Henderson

By Dr. Emily Roback, B.Sc., D.C.

As a search and rescue volunteer and chiropractor, I have noticed that the frustrating truth of rope rescue is the potential injuries that can be sustained by responders. Search and rescue volunteers from various health professions -- however well-intentioned -- are often not able to operate at their optimum level with those who are learning to become rescuers. Basic rescue training for ground search and rescue volunteers should address the danger of back injuries and miscommunication. Chiropractic care can assist in educating and preventing such injuries from occurring.

According to Apps ¹ “adventure [work] is increasing and some participants will inevitably develop musculoskeletal problems,” especially in rescue training programs. The rope rescue course in Red Deer, Alberta, which is operated by the Red Deer Search and Rescue Technical Team, runs the only rope training course in Central Alberta. Military personnel and professional climbers instruct two to three day weekend courses. Trainees spend five to six days tying knots, rappelling, and pulling heavy sledges from the ground to the top of a four-storey building, while working in extreme sub-zero conditions.

There are no minimum prerequisites for trainees who must be able to pull or lift the sledge from the ground level. The ‘average’ trainee is young and active – some have climbed the Rocky Mountains – self-sufficient, as well as having a wicked willpower to achieve success; having spent immeasurable amount of time mastering patient packaging, mechanical systems, hand signals, and tying rope knots correctly. To spare the back, trainees must learn to avoid lifting with the flexed low back. Lightly contracting the stabilizing abdominal musculature is strongly advised to reduce the risk of back injury ². Without proper lifting techniques, trainees more often than not injure their low back.

In addition to helping responders, chiropractic services can be competently provided in collaboration with, or as part of a structured rescue response team for casualties and structural collapses. Chiropractors that are search and rescue volunteers are most successful during the aftermath of a search provided they arrive on the scene as part of the prearranged response team. It is of great value for both responders and casualties to involve chiropractors that understand search and rescue.

Clinical cases of how valuable chiropractic can be in search and rescue are well documented. Two of these cases involved two search and rescue professionals who experienced acute pain as a result of their tasks on the team. One, a 37-year old male medical technician, had complained of acute lower back pain due to lifting a well-packed sledge off the ground. His chiropractic evaluation revealed a misalignment of the right and left sacro-iliac joints which are located the back-side of the pelvis. After two visits of chiropractic care, his pain was resolved.

The second, a 42-year old male rescue technician, complained of reduced neck mobility, as well as numbness in his right forearm and hand. A pinched nerve in his shoulder and upper arm was identified due to being wrapped up too tight while lying down in a sledge. After three chiropractic treatments, his neck mobility returned to full range and the right arm numbness diminished. Today, he continues to use chiropractics for other physical ailments. As a result, the acute pain was followed up and successfully resolved through chiropractic intervention in both scenarios.

It is clear that chiropractic is a valuable addition to the usual conservative medical approaches used in rescue training camps. As a recent graduate from the Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College, I believe chiropractic is an effective approach, in achieving a speedy recovery for back pain, without the use of anti-inflammatory medications. Other conditions such as headaches and neck pain can also be treated. Chiropractors can greatly help reduce first responders’ risk of injury through education as well as treat injuries appropriately when they occur.

1. © Copyright World Health Organization (WHO), 2008. All Rights Reserved.
2. Canadian Motor Vehicle Traffic Collision Statistics, 2006. Transport Canada

Dr. Emily Roback, president of Chiroback Trekker, provides chiropractic, sports therapy, and injury prevention seminars for search and rescue teams in Alberta. Dr. Roback can be contacted at roback@doctor.com and/or (403) 872 – 1599.

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