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Thread: Reducing weight of duty gear and back injurues

  1. #11
    Modding this sack of shit BehindBlueI's's Avatar
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    Suspenders are popular with the guys with back issues.

    Yoga and stretching is free and even more effective.
    Sorta around sometimes for some of your shitty mod needs.

  2. #12
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    After I tore a disc in my lower back I switched to a curved safariland nylon duty belt. I added the pad to the inside of the belt and the pad under the UBL on the holster. Together with suspenders it allowed me to continue to work. I would be careful about lightening equipment too much. I would not use ASP handcuffs or the lightweight baton. I would look hard at the vehicles. I swear part of my problem was that crown Vic’s were too small inside. I better for a police Tahoe. If your chief really wants to prevent injuries I would have everybody evaluated by a good physical therapist and have each officers start an individual PT program. I would add yoga in hindsight. I think if I knew then what I know now I don’t think I would have so many injuries. A stretching strap is your friend

  3. #13
    Member iWander's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Poconnor View Post
    After I tore a disc in my lower back I switched to a curved safariland nylon duty belt. I added the pad to the inside of the belt and the pad under the UBL on the holster. Together with suspenders it allowed me to continue to work. I would be careful about lightening equipment too much. I would not use ASP handcuffs or the lightweight baton. I would look hard at the vehicles. I swear part of my problem was that crown Vic’s were too small inside. I better for a police Tahoe. If your chief really wants to prevent injuries I would have everybody evaluated by a good physical therapist and have each officers start an individual PT program. I would add yoga in hindsight. I think if I knew then what I know now I don’t think I would have so many injuries. A stretching strap is your friend
    Funny you and Blues mention yoga and stretching. I too have herniated discs and other back/ neck problems, as well as cop knee from getting in and out of cars for decades. I'm working on a yoga and mindfulness program for the officers, and reinstating our ability to work out in the gym in our PD basement while on duty. Our staffing is finally almost back to normal levels. We used to allow the workouts as long as they take their gear, radios, uniforms with them so they're ready to respond, and we have two others on duty.

    Our last 2 Crown Vics are leaving in the spring. I agree they, and even smaller Impalas, Taurus, etc, caused many cumulative back and knee injuries over the years. My back feels so much better now that I'm assigned to a Tahoe. We have several Tahoes in the fleet are slowly transitioning to Explorers and F150s. The large SUVs, like the Tahoe, bring their own issues for smaller officers, though, like line of sight and hip pain with stepping into them with full gear.

    The Chief is determined to transition rop the light weight batons. We've not had issues with the lightweight Peerless cuffs.

    And as far as reducing weight with the polymer guns, it can make a difference. Going from our heaviest fully loaded pistol currently issued, the 226 in 40, to the lightest of the guns in our upcoming eval, the G19, reduced weight by almost a pound. Anyone that says losing a pound of your load doesn't make a difference has never carried a duty belt for a living.

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  4. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ohsheepdog View Post
    Funny you and Blues mention yoga and stretching. I too have herniated discs and other back/ neck problems, as well as cop knee from getting in and out of cars for decades. I'm working on a yoga and mindfulness program for the officers, and reinstating our ability to work out in the gym in our PD basement while on duty. Our staffing is finally almost back to normal levels. We used to allow the workouts as long as they take their gear, radios, uniforms with them so they're ready to respond, and we have two others on duty.

    Our last 2 Crown Vics are leaving in the spring. I agree they, and even smaller Impalas, Taurus, etc, caused many cumulative back and knee injuries over the years. My back feels so much better now that I'm assigned to a Tahoe. We have several Tahoes in the fleet are slowly transitioning to Explorers and F150s. The large SUVs, like the Tahoe, bring their own issues for smaller officers, though, like line of sight and hip pain with stepping into them with full gear.

    The Chief is determined to transition rop the light weight batons. We've not had issues with the lightweight Peerless cuffs.

    And as far as reducing weight with the polymer guns, it can make a difference. Going from our heaviest fully loaded pistol currently issued, the 226 in 40, to the lightest of the guns in our upcoming eval, the G19, reduced weight by almost a pound. Anyone that says losing a pound of your load doesn't make a difference has never carried a duty belt for a living.

    Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

    I am thankful for the Explorers. Getting in and out of a CV/Chevy Caprice, among other things, took its toll on me over twenty years of field work. Herniated disk at L4/L5 in the winter of '15 and was out for six weeks.
    I moved everything off the back of my duty belt up front until about a year ago and just then moved my cuff pouch to about 8:00. I drive a desk more often than not these days and try to be careful. If it happens again, I will have to explore some other options. Need to do the stretching/yoga thing....

  5. #15
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    The 5.11 Zero G plates might be worth looking into as well. Apparently 5.11 bought the design from Atlas. I had a pair of the Atlas plates and they lived up to the hype. Unfortunately they were not durable. I haven't pulled the trigger on them yet, so I can't comment directly on the 5.11 product.
    Whether you think you can or you can't, you're probably right.

  6. #16
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    You guys talk about knee problems getting out of crown Vics. I wonder if that's part/contributer to the issue with my left knee and leg hurting sometimes after exercise.

  7. #17
    Member iWander's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by txdpd View Post
    The 5.11 Zero G plates might be worth looking into as well. Apparently 5.11 bought the design from Atlas. I had a pair of the Atlas plates and they lived up to the hype. Unfortunately they were not durable. I haven't pulled the trigger on them yet, so I can't comment directly on the 5.11 product.
    I have a set on order!

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  8. #18
    Member iWander's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by TheNewbie View Post
    You guys talk about knee problems getting out of crown Vics. I wonder if that's part/contributer to the issue with my left knee and leg hurting sometimes after exercise.
    I've always said the most common cop injuries, in order, are:
    1. Lower back
    2. Left knee
    3. Hips
    4. Right shoulder

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  9. #19
    Quote Originally Posted by Ohsheepdog View Post
    I've always said the most common cop injuries, in order, are:
    1. Lower back
    Stands to reason, since more than 80% of Americans will experience back pain at some point, usually between age 30 and 50. I'm sure some are convinced that a metal framed pistol or stainless steel cuffs or the job caused their back pain, but most of us are going to have back pain at some point no matter what we do unless we practice very good spinal hygiene.

    I've got back issues that have nothing to do with wearing a duty belt. But if I was a patrol officer, would I think my back issues were related to the job....?

    Kudos to your chief (for trying to reduce worker comps claims), but there's much more to it than lightening your loads.

    (If I ever take an assignment that requires wearing plates regularly, I'm going to build in some lumbar support to the back plate somehow. Plates are perfect for flattening your spine and removing the lordosis.)
    Last edited by BigD; 08-14-2018 at 08:44 PM.

  10. #20
    This thread made me take a look at my duty belt. Tossed it on the scale and it came out to 13lbs. More than what I thought it would be. That's a lot of weight adding stress to your lower back for 8 -12 hrs a day.

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