Body Posture and Body Mechanics while transferring client
Body posture and proper client transfer
A caregiver for someone with mobility challenges is most likely “lifting” their patient or loved one multiple times throughout a 24-hour period, and like the father-daughter example, most caregiver pairs are usually not well-matched in terms of strength and size. Don’t let that stop you from safe lifting practices though. Consider these tips:
1. Communicate with the individual you are lifting. Don’t just come up behind them without warning or without a plan. Put them at ease, tell them how you plan to move them, and to where. Talk to them throughout the transfer. Don’t rush.
2. Don’t use your back to lift. Rather, focus on using the strength in your legs.
3. Assist, don’t lift. Make the move a joint effort. Ask the patient to help you in any possible way.
4. Don’t lift from the waist of the patient. Doing so is more difficult and more likely to cause injury. Instead, “have the patient push up using their arms and support their forearms just below the elbows.” He advises that this technique is not ideal for all patients, “especially those who require much more assistance.”
Positioning the Patient
Moving and Lifting Activities- Body mechanics enable medical personnel to perform moving and lifting activities while avoiding back strain. Primarily, the concern is for moving patients while standing at a hospital bed; however, the methods discussed can apply also to lifting or moving objects of similar weight.
Prepare the Patient and Your Body for Lifting Movement. Before starting to lift a patient, always explain the procedure to him. In addition, prepare your body for the lifting movement as follows:
(1) Stand with your feet apart, one foot advanced facing the side of the bed.
(2) Lower your body to the working level by flexing your knees and at the same time keeping your back straight.
(3) Lean forward and slide your hands and arms under the patient, keeping the elbows close to your body and the back straight. At the same time, tense contract the abdominal and gluteal muscles in anticipation of moving the patient
Mechanics of Body Movements. The following procedures relate to the mechanics of your body as you move the patient in the various directions.
(1) To move the patient toward you, let the arm holding the patient slide on the surface toward you while shifting your weight backward from front to rear foot.
(2) To move the patient away from you, let the arm holding the patient slide on the surface away from you while you shift your weight forward from rear to front foot.
(3) To lift the patient, first move the patient toward you. This keeps the centers of gravity close together. Keeping elbows close to your body, straighten your knees to equalize the weight on both feet. Support the weight of the patient against the chest as you shift your weight backward.
(4) To lower the patient to the bed surface, flex the knees to lower your body to working level.
Please remember to be careful and never lift with your back.