INFORMATION SHEET 43002/7: MANUAL HANDLING Manual handling refers to any activity that requires the use of force to lift, lower, push, pull, carry or move a person, animal or object. By observing simple, safe manual handling methods, you can avoid manual handling injuries. New South Wales, for example, spends around $100 million a year on compensation for injuries suffered from manual handling. That's a lot of money and a lot of injured workers. Manual handling injuries Incorrect manual handling can cause different types of injuries: back pain ligament and muscle strains and tears joint injuries hernia stress fractures spinal injury Damage to the spine and joints tend to be long term, possibly lifetime, while the sprains, stains and tears of the soft tissue will generally be short term. Neck Neck muscles can be strained or torn if: heavy loads are not lifted properly sudden jerky movements are made while handling heavy loads loads are carried for a long period of time Getting a sore neck is a sign that you may have damaged your neck muscles. Shoulders Shoulder muscles can be strained when a heavy load is lifted, carried, pushed or pulled. This can lead to soreness in your shoulders. If this continues, then you should stop handling any heavy loads and have a rest. Always carry loads close to your body to avoid straining your shoulders. Chest Lifting, carrying, pushing and pulling loads can strain the muscles of your chest. A sign of strain is a feeling of soreness in your chest. To prevent this, make sure you follow the correct methods for handling heavy loads and always carry a load close to your body to avoid strained muscles.
Road Matters 43002/7 Lower back Injury to the lower back is caused by incorrect lifting and carrying of heavy loads. A warning sign of this injury is a twinge in the back but usually there are no immediate warning signs. Your back just gets sore a day or so later. A back injury can take a long time to heal and can affect your ability to work, so make sure that you always follow safe lifting and carrying methods when handling loads. You should always keep your back straight when lifting, carrying, pushing or pulling to avoid damaging it. Knee Incorrect lifting could damage your knee joints. Always bend your knees when you need to get down to grip a load, then straighten your legs to lift the load. Try and avoid getting into a full squat position when you do this, or you could hurt your knees. Preparing for a manual handling job There are a few easy steps you can follow to make sure that you're ready for a manual handling task. Warm up Just as you'd warm up before taking part in sports or exercise, you need to warm up before you handle a heavy load. Check the load Have a good look at the load. Check for: areas where you can get a firm grip on the load the overall size and shape of the load the weight of the load you should only try and manually handle loads that are less than 20 kilograms; loads of more than 20 kilograms should not be manually lifted; you should use equipment such as a fork lift to move these loads. Move yourself into position Get close to the load and put yourself in the best position to handle the load. Safe handling techniques In all cases, if the object is simply too heavy for you to move by yourself, either use lifting equipment or if that isn t possible or available, ask for assistance. Page 2 of 5
Road Matters 43002/7 Lifting 1: Assess the load. 2: Get close to the load. 3: Set your feet apart for balance. 4: Relax your knees. 5: Lower your body and bend your knees. 6: Lower your head. 7: Get a firm grip. 8: Raise your head and look ahead. 9: Straighten your legs. 10: Lift, then turn your feet before walking. Never bend down to pick up a load. Page 3 of 5
Safety Road Matters 43002/7 Pushing & pulling Carrying Always carry the load close to your body. Never carry a heavy load away from your body as this puts a lot of strain on your shoulders and back. Avoid carrying a heavy load for long distances. This can cause your muscles to get tired and become more vulnerable to strain and injury. Use a trolley, or a similar type of equipment, to move heavy loads over long distances. Page 4 of 5
Road Safety Matters 43002/7 Carrying (cont d) Acknowledgement This sheet has been adapted from a resource available from Flexible Learning Australia. http://toolboxes.flexiblelearning.net.au/archive/tour/turf/html/pages/office/occupational_health/manual_handling.html Page 5 of 5