subject: Avoiding Back Injury While Moving Stuff [print this page] Avoiding Back Injury While Moving Stuff
Moving into a new apartment or home is always exciting, but moving stuff is never a fun activity. All that wrapping, boxing, and packing takes forever, while the actual move can sometimes just take one day. People sometimes rush around on the actual moving day, which can result not only in paper cuts and bruises, but sometimes a major back injury. Back injuries on moving day are unfortunately a very common occurrence. There are some easy precautions we can all take to avoid getting injured. Most of them involve not getting impatient and just slowing down a bit.
The phrase we all repeat to ourselves when moving stuff, "lift with your legs, not your back," couldn't be more helpful on moving day. First of all, if an object is too heavy, use a dolly or have someone help you. Secondly, lifting safely and properly involves bending at the knees and not the waist. The legs are much more powerful and you'll avoid stressing weak back muscles. Get your body as close to the load as possible and squat down before you lift. You'll definitely want to avoid any twisting movements as well. If you lift a load and need to place it off to one side, turn by moving your feet. Another technique to prevent twisting is to tighten your stomach muscles. Obviously, you shouldn't be lifting at all if you're not in good physical condition. Consider hiring a mover to do this tough job for you. They are always moving stuff and the cost of having them do it for you is much less than the cost of doctor visits or even back surgery.
Poor posture, reaching too high, and bending at the waist, will all put undue strain on your back. So keeping yourself in good physical shape will definitely benefit you on moving day. Incorporate abdominal exercises to strengthen the muscles around your back and always stretch when you're warm to avoid strains. Try not to rush. Staying calm and in control of anything you're lifting will prevent unnecessary injury. Hopefully, you don't move more than once in awhile and your stuff can stay in one place. If you have a preexisting back injury, you should avoid all heavy lifting and stick to the job of supervising your volunteering brother-in-law or a moving company. Then again, if you want to avoid moving stuff altogether, hire a mover anyway!
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