Safe and Proper lifting techniques to help avoid injury and back pain

Although there is increased energy required to squat instead of stooping, the benefits to squatting (bending knees and using legs) include decreased pressure on the back muscles and discs, thus providing a safer lift. This becomes tiresome and is often ignored when repetitive lifting is required.

Above all, you should try to maintain the normal curve of the lower back by keeping it as straight as possible. Tightening your abdominal muscles while bending can help with this. Additionally, tightening your abdominal muscles and buttocks muscles can help prevent over extending (arching of the back) when reaching overhead. Properly designed back support belts can assist in retaining the backward c-curve in the small of the back as you bend. Maintaining this curve is more important than how you lift.

With the normal curve maintained, safe lifting is increased because ligaments are not stressed and the discs are not bent, thus they are at low risk for failure. The muscles are activated and give more control and feedback regarding the more vulnerable structures.

When you lift may be more important than how you lift. After lying down when sleeping or resting, the increased fluid in the disc can increase the bending stress on the disc by 300% and the stress on ligaments by 80%. The chances of safe lifting are decreased early in the morning. Additionally, prolonged sitting, even as little as 3 minutes, can make the back more vulnerable to lifting, therefore, using back support pillows or a device like the Posture Curve to help maintain the normal curve while sitting is a good idea to help promote safe lifting.

Back support belts or a back brace are designed to help keep you aware of safe lifting technique. It is important to know and follow proper lifting techniques. Safe Lifting: Begin with your feet about shoulder width apart and one foot slightly ahead of the other. It is important to lower your body by bending your knees, never bend from the waist or twist while lifting. Let your powerful leg muscles do the work, not your weaker back muscles. Tighten your stomach muscles as you begin to move to an upright position. Keep the weight close to your body and your back upright. Lift smoothly and ask for help when needed. To place objects down, bend your knees and keep your back upright, reverse the procedures.

The compressive load on the back is greatly increased by twisting. For safe lifting, make sure the object is not awkwardly placed and keep at waist level if at all possible. Move your legs and feet to turn instead of twisting.

To reduce the pressure on the back muscles, keep the weight as close to your body as possible. It is simple physics, the further the object is from your body, the greater its mass and the pressure it will put on your back. Keep this in mind if you have young children that you lift to put in a car seat.

Remember to use safe lifting especially when immediately getting up from a chair or after a good night's sleep. When packing a suitcase, try 2 smaller ones instead of 1 large one so you can balance the load when lifting. Given a choice, pushing is easier than pulling on you back because the legs can be used more efficiently.

While we are on the subject of safety, a few words about exercise. Exercises nourish the tissues of the spine and can increase flexibility and strength. Being sedentary is a presciption for back and neck pain. When recovering from injury or pain, exercises can help the tissues heal faster. There are some exercises that can actually cause injury. Toe touches can stretch the back of the hamstrings which may be dangerous. When doing sit-ups, never come up all the way because the disc pressure is too high. They can also be bad for your neck if you pull your neck or poke your neck forward as you come up. Hamstring curls can over-arch the low back.

If you need assistance or have questions regarding safe lifting, please feel free to contact Neck Solutions.