Attention Work Athletes: Save Your Back with these Safe Lifting Techniques

Lifting and carrying are power jobs – when you lift and carry the wrong way, you can damage your back. Back injuries are the most common type of injury in the workplace, resulting in approximately 236,000 cases involving days away from work in 2007. Over half of these injuries are from lifting.

Back injuries may be difficult to treat and may have lengthy and expensive rehabilitation times.

Lifting Tips:

Use these safe lifting techniques:

• Stretch and warm up before lifting

• Keep your back straight

• Bend your knees

• Never bend or twist your back when lifting

• Never lift with arms extended

• Make sure your footing is solid with your feet shoulder-width apart

• Keep the load being lifted close to your body

• Lift with your legs, not your back

• Limit the amount of weight you carry

• Get help to carry heavy, bulky or large loads

• Keep pathways clear to avoid tripping

 

Information provided by the National Safety Council.

For more safe lifting tips visit: http://www.nsc.org/news_resources/Resources/Pages/HowtoLiftandCarry.aspx

 

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