material lift

Editor’s Note: This is the third and final installment of a special report on avoiding back injuries, the most common workplace injury.

The best way to avoid injuring your back while lifting is to avoid lifting whenever possible. Using carts and dollies, rather than your legs and back, is the best way to transport heavy objects without lifting them. Pushing a cart is always easier than pulling it. And using cranes, hoists and lift tables to get the heavy objects onto the transport vehicles will also reduce excess back stress.

Proper Lifting Procedures Explained

While you probably can’t always avoid any lifting in the workplace, you can improve your chances of avoiding a back injury if you follow the proper lifting procedures in order to minimize the amount of pressure you place on your lower back.

The first thing to remember is to always bend at the knees. This allows your spine to maintain its natural “S” shape, so you essentially eliminate the fulcrum/lever principle that occurs when your back acts as a crane, rather than allowing your legs to do the work.

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Editor’s Note: This is the second of three special reports on avoiding back injuries, the most common workplace injury.

Improperly lifting a heavy object or accidentally twisting while carrying a heavy load aren’t the only ways to suffer a back injury while at work. Painful back injuries also can be caused by slips and falls, tripping over obstacles, and improperly using moving equipment such as manual jacks and dollies.

Besides the physical environment of the workplace, there are other factors that also can contribute to back injuries, including:

• Being Out of Shape — Back muscles require strong stomach muscles to provide proper support. If your stomach muscles are weak or flabby, you may be more likely to suffer a back injury.
• Poor Posture — Your spine has a natural “S” shape that is optimal for support weight while lifting. When you lean forward when you sit, hunch over when you  are standing or otherwise have poor posture, this can weaken the spine over time.
• Being Overweight — Carrying additional weight on your body can add to the weight-to-force fulcrum proportion when you lift heavy objects because your body weight is also being supported by your back.
• Stress and Anxiety — Being stressed out causes muscle tension, making them more susceptible to injury.

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Editor’s Note: This is the first of a special three-part special report on avoiding back injuries, the most common workplace injury.

Anyone who has suffered back injury can tell you how painful and debilitating they can be. They tend to take a long time to heal and often can lead to further back problems months or even years later.

They also account for one out of every five workplace injury, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Back injuries can cause an employee to miss work and lose wages, but they also can cost an employer in lost productivity and in workman’s compensation claims. In fact, approximately 20% of all workmen’s comp claims are due to workers suffering back injuries.

So there is a benefit to both employees and management to avoiding back injuries whenever possible.

Under Pressure

Most people know that you should always lift with your legs, bending your knees when picking up a heavy object, but have you ever considered why this is the case? The amount of force you put on your back when you don’t bend your knees can be tremendous.

Think of your back as a fulcrum in a lever system. Because it isn’t centered, bending at the waist causes you to have a 10:1 weight-to-force ratio. In other words, lifting an object that weighs only 10 lbs. actually puts about 100 lbs. of pressure on your lower back. So any type of repetitive lifting and bending from the waist can quickly result in a back injury.

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