"As well as injury Avoiding all these |
Lift Smart for Wheelchair Users Living an active life with a disability can be frustrating. The last thing you need is additional problems with your back. With a little care and thought as to what you are doing, back injuries can be avoided. When most of what you do is from a sitting position, many everyday tasks can be causing you back strain you are not even aware of. Injury doesn't just come from obvious high risk activities such as transfers, lifting heavy objects or getting wheelchairs in and out of vehicles. Back injuries commonly come from minor strains accumulating over time, not just from one bad lift or over-stretch. Progressive damage can be done while picking dropped items up off the floor; lifting bags and boxes from an uncomfortable height; or performing basic household tasks such as taking laundry out of a washing machine or dryer. Doing all these things while sitting makes it much harder to reach, lift and move objects and increases the risk of damaging your back. Throughout our lives, our ligaments lose elasticity and the intervertebral discs become flatter, more brittle and prone to rupture. The greater strain that is placed on these structures, the sooner damage can occur. Disc and ligament damage can result in spinal stenosis. This is a condition in which the spinal nerve roots are compressed causing pain, numbness and tingling in whichever part of your body is serviced by that particular root. It can also cause spondylolisthesis, where one vertebrae slips over another causing the same symptoms as spinal stenosis. In addition to the complications caused by the sitting position, paralysis of the lower limbs can also result in reduced muscle tone in the abdominal muscles. Ideally, the abdominal muscles should take the strain of any lift, rather than the muscles in your back. Lifting using the abdominal muscles stabilises the spine, and produces less muscle fatigue, giving you more energy for the lift. If the back muscles take the strain, the muscles have to work harder requiring more effort to lift the object, and greater force is placed on the joints of the spine. Over time, this leads to disease and pain. As well as injury severely limiting your activities and reducing your independence, the pain that comes from physical stress and injury can cause anxiety and depression. Avoiding all these problems makes taking good care of your back worthwhile. Injury can be avoided with thought and planning. Below are helpful guidelines for lessening the strain you place on your back as you go about your daily activities. They are relevant to everything you do, whether or not you think of these activities as light or heavy.
Before you lift: plan your approach
While you are lifting: be aware of what you’re doing
Occupational Therapists and organizations such as Technical Aids for the Disabled or LifeTec (formerly the Independent Living Centre) have advice and independent living aids which can help reduce back strain and make your life easier. You can visit them at: www.lifetec.org.au/home/default.asp It is worthwhile asking for help before you run into trouble.
Technical Aids For The Disabled can be found online at:
Contact us at: admin@liftsmart.com.au © Lift Smart Australia 2010 |
Test the object before you lift to see how heavy it is. Is it too much to handle?
