Lifting and carrying heavy objects isn’t necessarily bad for you. In fact, if you do it in the right way, it’s extremely good exercise.
Problems arise, however, when lifting and carrying are done in the wrong way. This can expose the person doing the lifting to severe risk. This can occur even if the object in question is relatively small: office employees carrying boxes of files might underestimate the load in a way that construction workers hauling bags of cement would not.
If the lifting is being performed at work, then it might even have legal consequences: employers owe a legal duty of care to their staff and therefore must provide the right training, equipment, and supervision to any person charged with lifting or carrying heavy objects. Manual handling injuries can often result in legal action.
So, what’s the right way to lift?
Warm up and stretch
Injuries are most likely when the exercise in question is being performed ‘from cold’. The first object you lift might therefore present the greatest risk.
This creates a challenge for people who lift infrequently. You can lessen the risk by warming up properly prior to the lift. Stretch the muscles that you know are going to be loaded. This might mean your legs, back, and shoulders. If you know the stretches and you’re comfortable doing them, you’ll be able to cut your risk significantly over a lifetime of lifting. What’s more, you might be able to take up exercise – which can bring benefits of its own.
Assess the load
Your body has limits – even if it’s sufficiently warmed up. You should be able to assess the weight of a given object and know how to abandon the lift safely if you think that it’s going to push you too far. Sometimes, objects can be difficult not because of their weight, but because of their shape.
You might split the load, where possible, or divide it between many people. In a warehouse setting, you might have access to special equipment designed to reduce the risk. Forklifts and dollies can often make a crucial difference to your safety in the workplace.
Practice good lifting techniques
There’s a good way and a bad way to lift any object. Ideally, you should keep your feet apart, so that your body is stable. Bend from the knees, keeping your back straight and shoulders level and parallel with your hips. Make sure that the load is close to your body so that its weight pushes down through your legs.
When depositing an object, make sure that you follow this procedure, but in reverse. Above all, make sure that you keep your back straight!
Adjust afterwards
Don’t feel that you have to perform the complete move in a single go. Put the object down if you need to rethink, and then take it up again. This will help you avoid taking unnecessary risks, and give you a break at the same time.
Source: Fapello in UK
