Now here’s a thing – if I had a penny for every person who walks through my door with back pain caused by lifting something incorrectly, I’d be off to the Bahamas for my holiday!
And it’s not just something heavy that’ll do it. I’ve had someone come in, who simply “bent down to pick a £5 note up off the pavement”. You see, it’s not necessarily the weight that’s the problem; it’s the position of the vertebrae in your spine, when you bend to pick up this “weight”, that does the damage.
When we lift by bending at the waist, the joints of the spine are being stretched open. Then, if we twist to pick up this object, we’re putting a twist into an already open joint. Add a weight on the end of this and you’re likely to strain the muscles and ligaments that hold the spine together or even slip a disc!
So how should we lift correctly?
The first thing is preparation. Think about what you’re about to do, even if only for a few seconds. The brain is preparing the body for the manoeuvre – toning up muscles, shifting blood flow or even suggesting that you go get someone else to do it!
Second, move close to the object, so that when you lift it (using your leg muscles) the object is as close as possible to your body, and the legs simply think that they’re lifting a new ‘heavier’ you.
Third, spread your feet, about a shoulder width apart, one foot slightly in front of the other and squat down to the object by bending at the hips and knees. KEEP THE BACK STRAIGHT and have the object directly in front of you. NEVER lift with a twist in the body.
Now wrap your arms around the object, as best you can, and ‘cuddle’ it. Remember, keep it close to your body.
Tighten the stomach muscles (this provides solid support for the front of the spine).
Lift the object by straightening the legs (feel the thigh muscles working). DO NOT lift using the back muscles. The muscles of the thigh are large, strong muscles and can support heavy weight. Muscles surrounding the spine are small. They do a great job supporting the vertebrae but are not designed to lift weight.
Then, when you set the weight back down again, do the reverse. Hold in the stomach muscles, keep the back straight, lower the weight using the leg muscles and go down to a squat. We can learn a lot from African tribes who squat, rather than bend at the waist (but that’s another story).