Muscles Involved in Chest Compressions

[Ben]

Last week I did chest compressions on a patient for almost two hours (rotating with one other person). The next day I was pretty sore, and the muscles that were the most sore surprised me. I ranked them in order of most sore to least.

1. Rear Deltoid - this was the muscle I felt was most sore after doing prolonged chest compressions


2. Abdominal muscles - specifically, the lower abdominal muscles were also very sore.


3. Triceps - no surprise here, but these were also sore.


My forearms and wrists seemed to not be bothered. This is of course dependent on my body mechanics of doing chest compressions and will vary from person to person, but I just found it interesting that my two sorest muscles were my rear delts and lower abs.

So if you aspire to be a chest compression pro, work these extra hard at the gym.

[Christine]

Ben,

I believe this is the first analysis in history of the physiology of CPR - on the rescuer and not the patient.

Amazing insight and great work. What I saw in your CPR was excellent technique and very effective CPR, and that was also confirmed by other staff.

You are karma'd for your post.

Christi

[Christine]

Sudden Cardiac Arrest can occur at any time in any age. Sometimes even at a sporting event with young healthy people. Are you ready to perform effective CPR that could save someone's life?