As someone who makes a living working as a nurse in California, you may understand all too well that aches, pains and ailments are immensely common among those in your line of work. However, one of your most substantial on-the-job hazards involves regularly transporting heavy patients, which can lead to sprains, strains and similar back and musculoskeletal injuries. At Kampf, Schiavone & Associates, we recognize just how common moving patients is a factor in nursing-related injuries, and we have helped many nurses and health care workers who injured themselves at work pursue solutions that meet their needs.
According to Healthcare Business & Technology, moving heavy or immobile patients is the single-biggest occupational hazard faced by today’s nurses. In fact, nurses report suffering more than 35,000 back and musculoskeletal injuries each year that are serious enough to keep them from working. While many hospitals develop programs and otherwise train their workers to utilize safe handling practices, statistics show that using proper lifting techniques only helps so much.
In other words, even if you are consistent in using safe lifting practices and techniques, moving patients still places a substantial strain on your back and body due to how much pressure the act puts on your spine. There are, however, some lifting-related actions that can make you more prone to injury than others.
For example, having to bend down to lift patients can place an increased strain on your body by impacting the distribution of the weight you must bear. Having too much distance between you and the patient you are lifting can also increase your injury risk, although you can typically only get so close when trying to lift a patient up and out of his or her bed. You can find more about workplace injuries by visiting our webpage.
