Proper Lifting Technique to Protect Your Back
“Looking after my health today gives me a better hope for tomorrow.” – Anne Schaef
Fall is just around the corner and here at EPIC, we want to help keep you fit and healthy moving into a new season! In this month’s newsletter, our main topic is proper lifting technique; but you will also find some helpful tips on staying healthy, a motivational quote (above), and some fun ‘did you know’ facts to share around the office or dinner table. As always, we love to spread the word of health and wellness, so feel free to share our newsletter with anyone you think would enjoy!
Your questions answered by Dr. Morris:
Q: How much water should I consume daily on average?
A: Take your weight in pounds and divide that number by 2. The resulting number will be how many ounces of water you should strive to consume daily. {Example: Weight: 150lbs. Goal Water Consumption: 75 ounces/day.}
Q: I’m not in pain, am I still a candidate for chiropractic care?
A: Yes! While we are great at getting you pain-free here at EPIC, but we also love keeping our patients that are pain-free in that state of wellness. Pain is typically the final indicator of dysfunction in the body. Our activities of daily living, whether they are strenuous or not, cause misalignments in your spine which leads to dysfunction in the body which can lead to more problems in the future. For an optimally functioning nervous system and body, we recommend you get your spine checked on routine wellness visits!
Proper Lifting Technique:
Here, we will go over the proper form to use when lifting objects to best preserve your back and body health and prevent injury. Below is an infographic to help highlight and visulize the proper technique. When preparing to lift an object, square your body to the object and face it chest-forward. Bend at the knees keeping your core engaged and your posture erect. Grip the object comfortably and use your leg muscles to lift the object and stand back up, all the while keeping your upper body and core musculature engaged. Hold the object close to your body if possible and maintain good posture and balance. When placing the object down, repeat the same technique as lifting in a reverse order.
Quick Tips to Prevent Back Injuries when Lifting:
Avoid twisting or turning and bending over to lift an object, this creates more stress on the annular fibers that protect our discs in our spine. This makes it more likely for them to tear or be injured resulting in a disc injury.
Avoid locking out your knees and/or elbows when lifting and moving any object. This causes more stress on the joint and puts your body in a position it does not like. Keep your leg and arm muscles engaged and hold them steady without locking any joints.
Always maintain a strong and engage core when lifting an object. This provides more comfort when lifting and really helps protect your lower back.
Always practice proper lifting techniques, even if it is an object you may consider “light weight”; and when possible, have a buddy help lift larger and heavier objects.
Finally, your body is very smart and tells you when it needs breaks or when something is too heavy or awkward. Listen to your body!
"Did You Know?":
The human lungs have roughly the same surface area as a tennis court!
The human nose can remember approximately 50,000 different smells!
If all of your DNA was uncoiled and stretched out, it would reach to the moon 6,000 times!
The stapes is the smallest bone in your body; it is located in your ear canal and used to conduct sound.
