Patient Lifting Techniques

Whether you are caring for patients in a hospital, long-term care facility or are caring for a loved one at home, it is imperative to know how to properly lift and move them from one position to another. Not only can proper lifting prevent you from incurring unnecessary injury, it also prevents you from injuring the patient.

Importance of Proper Lifting

• When employed in the health care industry, you will find a majority of your job is physical. Most of your day is spent lifting and transferring patients from their beds to their wheelchairs, on or off stretchers and assisting them with their toileting needs. An injury is easy if you do not carefully follow specific lifting techniques which have been put into place for each patient; techniques which are based on each patient's ability to stand and assist with the transfer.

  Back injuries are the most common among health care workers, yet they are the most easily prevented. But once you've hurt your back, it is more susceptible to further injury in the future.

The Basics

• Regardless of how much the patient weighs or her ability to assist with the lift, you always need to lift with your legs rather than your back. Always keep your back straight, bend at the knees and as you lift the patient, do so with the strength from your legs.

  The same is true when you are lifting a patient up in bed. Keep your back straight and avoid slouching. Though you have to bend, keep your head and neck in alignement with your spine, your feet shoulder width apart for balance and your knees bent. As you proceed to pull her up in bed, pull with your legs, not your back. Make this a conscious effort every time you lift a patient, regardless of the circumstance.

Read the Care Plan

• Every patient will have various lifting instructions based on his condition and his physical ability. If he has a weak side due to a stroke, this will be listed in his care plan. You need to pay attention to this information, as it will be your guide to the technique you use when lifting him. You may need to use a gait belt, a device used to provide you with extra support when lifting, or you may need to ask another worker for help. If this is the case, be sure to communicate with one another, making sure both of you are prepared to lift at the same time. When one begins to lift without the other, it can cause injury to one or both of you.

  Some patients may require the use of a mechanical lift, such as a Hoyer. If this is the case, be sure to use the lift. Some health care workers believe they can physically lift the patient faster and do so; this can result in serious injury to both themselves and the patient.

Patient Safety

• Proper lifting techniques are important for the safety of the patient as well. If you have a patient who is particularly fragile and lightweight, you may still need the assistance of another worker as well as a gait belt to lift her. An example of proper lifting techniques in this situation is as follows:

  You would begin by placing the gait belt around her waist. You want it snug enough to provide security, yet loose enough to fit your fingers comfortably between the belt and her waist. With one of you on each side, place the arm closest to her under her arm, then slide that hand under the belt. Take your other arm and slide it under her leg. Though you are bent at the waist, be prepared to lift with your legs as you stand. Communicate with your lifting partner, such as, "On the count of three..." You then lift the patient from either her bed or chair and transfer her to the desired destination, keeping her as close to your body as possible.