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What's the latest thinking on lifting techniques? I was once taught to squat, stick my bottom out, and lift with my legs. Is this still the best way to avoid back injuries?
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There's more than a simple answer to this question. The first consideration is just what are you lifting? For example, nurses and physical therapists helping heavy patients in and out of bed have to adopt a different approach to lifting than stock handlers in grocery stores.
Let's assume we are looking at lifting inanimate objects such as heavy boxes. It's still always advised to bring the item close to your center of gravity (upper abdomen or low chest). Never lift with the item at arms' length.
But whether to bend over from the hips or squat from the legs is still being debated. For a long time, the squat lift was preferred. But studies showed mixed results when these two methods were compared. Sometimes it's simply more efficient to lift by bending over.
Some individuals may have hip and knee problems that prevent assuming a squat position. If that's the case, it's probably best to get another person to help anyway. Always test the weight of the load before lifting in order to decide if help is needed.
For people who already have chronic low back pain, they may have adopted a variety of different methods to compensate. The two most common patterns are the guarded (slow, low jerk) lift and the high-performing lift.
The high-performing lift represents four common lifting patterns including 1) the squat starting lift, 2) the fast, high jerk lift, 3) the torso starting posture lift, and 4) the two-segment lift. In the two-segment lift, the lower body moves faster than the upper body. The slow, low jerk method favored by people with high intensity back pain is not included.
We don't necessarily know if one of these two methods is safer or more effective for those who have a history of back pain. It appears that increasing confidence and muscle control are key to improving lifting patterns in folks with a previous history of chronic low back pain. Whether or not everyone must adopt the same lifting patterns is under review.
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*Disclaimer:*The information contained herein is compiled from a variety of sources. It may not be complete or timely. It does not cover all diseases, physical conditions, ailments or treatments. The information should NOT be used in place of visit with your healthcare provider, nor should you disregard the advice of your health care provider because of any information you read in this topic. |
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