Body Mechanics??

[EMTgurl911]

Well I was wondering would anybody have any hints for proper lifting of body mechanics..I mean I know what body mechanics are but when I was in school they didn't really go over that section due to the fact there was a liabilty issue and we couldn't do the skills for it...

I heard with doing the right manuevers you can pick up just about anything
Gimme me some examples as to what the heaviest thing you carried...Thanks

 

[MAC4NH]

I can think of a few things right off the top of my head. I'm sure others can come up with plenty more.

First, the school did you a dis-service by not covering the area. Liability is a poor excuse to skip an important safety issue (BTW, they can be held liable if they failed to teach you something they were supposed to and you got hurt because of it).

Be that as it may, there are a few ways to help prevent injuries.

1. When you lift, keep the load as close to the core of your body as possible and your back as straight as possible.

2. While keeping your back as straight as possible, lift with your legs.

3. While carrying the load, do not twist your body. Turn your whole body as a unit. This prevents torsion on the lumbar discs which are very strong in compression but not very strong in rotation. Twisting while bending is the most common cause of traumatic lumbar disc herniation.

4. Communicate with your partner. Injuries very often occur when one partner does something that the other is not expecting nor prepared for.

5. If the patient is just too big, call for a lift assist!

6. Mentally plan each lift. Do not lift mindlessly. Take half a second to think about what you want to do and how to do it most safely.

7. (or is it number 1?) Remember the ABCs: Ambulate Before Carry. If the patient is walking when you get there, keep them walking right into the bus! Note: this doesn't work for the 20% of calls that you do which are legitimate (chest pain, respiratory, CVA, trauma, etc). Those you have to carry. It does work great on most (not all) of the other 80% of calls which are often BS.

These have worked well for me. I'm interested in seeing what others say.

 

[fma08]

stryker power pro cots on a serious note, ditto to what was said above.

 

[traumateam1]

When lifting, and especially for women look up.
So as you are squatted down ready to lift the stretcher, look up wards and lift with your legs.
That's what I was taught, and everyone here uses it! ^_^

 

[EMTgurl911]

Yes the school had its excuse because a kid got hurt when the teacher wasn't around and now they didn't show us..when we had scenario day we didnt even use the full extent of the gurney we just moved it around like a bunch of idiots and pretended somebody was on it. Though I did get a feel of it when we had to lift a backboard with a 115 lb gurl on there and it wasnt so bad she felt light as hell or when I went on a ride along and me and these two guys had to literally lift this 300 lb guy in the back the rig on a gurney and that was easy for me too...maybe Im just pysching myself to much.

Though I will definitely try the looking up thing it seems a lot easier..I don't know..this is something I really want and I want to pass it maybe Im stressing out for nothing.:wacko:

 

[LucidResq]

When lifting from the floor, get into a deep squat, like a frog.

I've been teaching the probies proper body mechanics and they laughed at me when I showed them how much to squat, but hey, guess who's gonna have the last laugh?

Your knees should be directly over your feet and a comfortable width apart. There should be absolutely no bending of the spine, at all. A lot of people bend forward and stick their butts back... No! Look straight forward and keep looking that way.

 

[Ridryder911]

You have got to be kidding!... OMG!

So sorry that your institution was so bad. Please, go back and demand your money back! A couple of red flags or should I say rockets is flaring.

Scenario day? What ? You mean only one time you were able to use equipment such as the stretcher, ambulance, and scenarios. This was not a everyday part of class?

Sorry, but when I teach an EMT course, lecture is two hours and lab is twp hours.. with every student doing a scenario. How could anyone expect a student to learn without it? They pay for an instructor to teach safely and also they should have insurance. No excuses allowed, it is part of the curriculum to demonstrate skills.

Sorry for the rant but I wonder how much your type of instructing occurs to others? ...

Some great suggestion were made, I suggest calling the physical therapy at the hospital. I am sure they can give or even have hand outs as well as demonstrate with you some good points on lifting, moving patients, and protecting your back. Something you want to protect and save, if you want to be in this business.

R/r 911

 

[MAC4NH]

Sorry for the rant but I wonder how much your type of instructing occurs to others? ...

Unfortunately, in my area, it occurs way too often.

 

[BossyCow]

I would be concerned about what the 'looking up' thing does to the position of your neck. The key in lifting is the same as it is in C-Spine precautions. Keep the spine aligned in the neutral position. Ditto on the squat thing. It feels funny and looks odd the first couple of times you do it, but its a lot less odd than the little old lady walk you'll be doing after the first time you hurt your back.

We had a physical therapist come in and do an ergonomics class for our department in the hospital. Well worth the investment! One bad back claim more than eats up the money for the class.