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Lifting Techniques for Home Caregivers

Ujwal Deshmukh
People who experience an injury and get temporarily disabled are generally taken care of by home caregivers. Read on to know about few lifting techniques which may help the caregivers to do their job efficiently.
Many people meet with accidents or face serious injuries, leading to temporary, or even permanent disability. They face difficulty doing daily activities like getting up, moving from wheelchair to bed, etc. In such cases, home caregivers who are trained experts, assist them to perform these activities.
While performing their duties, the caregivers may get affected by health problems such as back pain, the causes for which include:
  • Leaning over a person for a prolonged time.
  • Pulling a patient, who is leaning back on the bed in a sitting position.
  • Transferring a person from a chair to the bed and vice-versa.
The body positions and movements may in turn land them in serious upper-back and lower-back pain. Therefore, it is important to follow some ideal techniques to lift the patients.

Tips

Before learning the techniques, it is necessary to know some important tips pertaining to the same. They are:
  • Avoid twisting movements of the body while carrying or assisting the patient in getting up.
  • Keep your feet shoulder width apart to maintain a proper balance of the entire body.
  • Utilize the leg muscles to pull and/or lift the patient.
  • Keep the patient close to your body while moving or lifting him/her.
  • Avoid bending at the waist, and try to maintain the natural curve of your spine.
  • Call for additional assistance if the person is too heavy.
  • Keep your neck, head, and spine in proper alignment.

Lifting Methods

While Standing Up

Patients who require assistance to get up from the chair should be assisted by the home caregiver in the following way:
  • Face towards the patient. Keep your feet shoulder width apart and then bend down.
  • Let the patient's feet be on the floor, with a slight distance between them.
  • Position the patient's hands either on your shoulders or on the bed. Further, position your hands around the patient's back and clench your hands together. Hold the person firmly, close to you.
  • Now lean back and shift the weight.
Normally, the patient is tied a belt around his/her waist, which must be held while lifting the patient up.

While Sitting in Bed

The steps described here should be performed to shift a bedridden patient from the bed to the wheelchair:
  • Bring the chair close to the bed, and then lock the wheels.
  • Sometimes, disability may lead to loss of strength. If the patient is not strong enough to get up himself, then place one arm under the patient's legs and the other under his back.
  • Move the patient's leg to the edge of the bed, and simultaneously pivot his body so that the patient finally ends up sitting on the edge of the bed. While doing this activity, ensure that your feet are shoulder width apart, back straight, and knees bent.

While Sitting Down

While assisting a patient to sit down:
  • Pivot towards the chair.
  • Bend your knees, and position the patient in the wheelchair.
  • While sitting on the chair, take care that the patient's hands are placed on the handle of the chair for self support. Ensure that your feet are shoulder width apart, and you bend sufficiently to place the person on the chair comfortably.
These tips and techniques may help you avoid the occurrence of back pain. Moreover, the job would become efficient, comfortable, and you would also be able to provide proper patient care, once you gain expertise in implementing the techniques.
Disclaimer: This information is for informative purposes only, and should not be used as a replacement for expert medical advice.