Moving and Lifting Tips

There is so much moving going around these days with lots of houses on the market and many people looking to find a better fit for their family. Some are looking for more space, others are looking for a bigger backyard and more are looking to find the perfect spot for their home since work can be done virtually more than ever before.

For those that are staying put in their homes, they could be spending time rearranging their family room or kitchen to maximize space, painting the walls a new color and changing the décor.

With all the talk of moving and rearranging furniture, a friend told me recently about these moving straps that she had used in the past to move a fridge. My first thought was, wait…you moved a fridge and didn’t injure your body after that?! That sounds unbelievable!

So then I went to researching and figuring out what these moving straps are all about?! After some perusing the internet, including all the hardware stores, my husband and I found some great reviews and knew that we had to try them. We didn’t have anything to loose.

Wow…we could not believe how amazing they are!! Ok so let me tell you how to use them…

You put the two straps under the piece of furniture that you are planning to move and then crisscross them underneath to make sure that they don’t slide out while you are in transit.

Then, you put on your harness and your moving partner does the same thing. Attach the straps that are under the furniture to your harness on the hook that best fits how close you need to be to the furniture.

So now you will be in a position where you are squatting down, but then you will stand up lifting from your knees. Now make sure that you AND your partner is ready to lift to make sure that you don’t hurt yourself. You will not believe the weight of the furniture or lack of weight of the furniture that you can lift with your body and a friend, it is amazing and unbelievable!!

This got me to thinking about how often in life we are moving, rearranging our house and stressing about injuring our body in the process. So what are some tips to protect your back and spine while moving?! I always want my patients, friends and family to protect their spine and prevent an injury, this is no different.

There are many principles to lifting and you may feel like you have already heard them all. But it never hurts to be reminded of the safe ways to move your body when you are carrying a heavy, moderate or even a light load.

Our bodies are meant to move and work…think back to the olden days when people worked on a farm all day. They used their bodies for everything- lifting, squatting, taking care of the animals and crops on the farm and more!

Well maybe most of us are not working on a farm everyday if you are living in a city and spending your days in an office chair. BUT our bodies are still meant to move, and it is still essential that we protect our spine to prevent spending our days hurting or worse – not being able to move!

So, let’s get to the tips on moving that will help you keep your back and spine safe from injury:

1) Lift With Your Knees

2) Use a Wide Base of Support

3) Keep Your Back Straight

4) Use Your Abdominals

5) Breathe While You Lift and do NOT Hold Your Breath

6) Don’t Twist Your Back When Moving, MOVE Your FEET

7) Keep all Items Close to Your Body and Abdomen

8) Phone a friend

9) Check the Weight of the Item Before You Move it

10) Wear Proper Footwear

11) Make Sure That You Are Well Rested Before Moving Heavy Items

12) Warm-up before moving

13) Ice Your Body at the End of Your Moving Adventures to Prevent Any Back Pain, Neck Pain and More

14) Hydrate

So there you have it, 14 tips to prevent injury and protect your body whether you are moving a whole household, helping a friend move a couch or rearrange your own house to make things more organized.

We only get one body and it’s important that we protect it from all the challenging things that do each day.

If you are looking for more specialized and personalized advice on how to lift without injuring YOUR back, then give us a call to schedule a FREE Breakthrough visit at 410-721-6333 where you can sit down and talk with one of our trained professionals, the movement experts.

Physical therapists specialize in hands-on care to help patients prevent injury and recover faster if you do get hurt while lifting and moving things. It’s important to be followed by your neighborhood PT to make sure that your muscles are strong and ready to tackle anything. Just like the dentist, you should check-in with your PT every 6 months to have a quick chat about how your body and muscles are doing.

Preventative care is essential to take care of our body and now we need to make sure that our entire body is in tip top shape to take care of our everyday challenges.