How To Avoid Manual Lifting Injuries In The Workplace

Manual lifting involves transporting/conveying a material from one point to another by hand. It involves lifting, pushing, pulling, dropping, etc, and manual lifting injuries occur when lifting, carrying, pushing, or pulling objects improperly, leading to strain or trauma to the body.

Some of these injuries include musculoskeletal disorders like back pain, pains in joints and muscles, repetitive strain injury, etc. These sets of injuries are what are termed Manual Lifting Injuries.

Due to the harmful effect of poor manual handling techniques in the workplace, we will highlight some poor lifting techniques adopted on-site that should be avoided.

Table of Contents

Things You Should Not Do During Manual Lifting

Avoid manual lifting as far as possible.
Do not force yourself to lift an object that is above your lifting capacity.
Do not lift to impress
Never jump into lifting without prior planning

Good Manual Lifting Techniques

Plan your lifting: This involves assessing the load; the size, the weight, the texture, and the position to determine if you can lift it or not.
Lift mentally before actual lifting: Lifting mentally means a mental plan on how to execute the lifting plan.
Maintain good lifting posture: Try to keep your back straight while lifting. Bend your knees towards the load with your feet slightly open. Make sure one foot is slightly ahead of the other to maintain balance.
Assess your route before you move the load. Ensure that the route is hitch-free.

General Technique To Prevent Manual Lifting Injuries

Avoid manual lifting as much as possible.
Do not attempt lifting a load that is above your lifting capacity.
Do not bend to lift the load. Instead, tilt your knee towards the load to lift it. This pattern will ensure that you don’t lift with your back muscle.
Get very close to the load before lifting.
Make sure you have a firm grip on the load before lifting to avoid the load falling off.
Avoid lifting the load from the floor level.
Keep your feet slightly open while lifting, and ensure good balance.
Keep the load at your waist level
Keep the heaviest part of the load close to your body.