Health and Safety Bulletin (June2025)
Manual Handling
Definition of Manual handling – ‘The transportation or supporting of a load (including lifting, putting down, pushing, pulling, carrying or moving) by hand or by bodily force’ (The term ‘load’ includes objects, people & animals).
Positive aspects of having a manual job
‘Sitting for long periods is thought to slow the metabolism, which affects the body’s ability to regulate blood sugar, blood pressure and break down body fat. Many adults in the UK spend around 9 hours a day sitting. This includes watching TV, using a computer, reading, travelling by car, bus or train but does not include sleeping’. (source – NHS)
How many manual handling tasks have you already done before arriving at work today ?
picked some clothes up off the floor ? picked a child up ? pushed the wheelie bin ?
If we know the basic principles of lift with legs, keep the back straight why do we fail to put it into practice?
Resulting in the following statistics – 543,000 workers suffering from work-related musculoskeletal disorders (new or long-standing in 2023/24)
Postural abuse such as repeated stooping, twisting, over-stretching can all contribute to cumulative strain overtime. Cumulative strain is defined as the ‘progressive degeneration or stiffening of body and muscle tissue due to habitual excessive or prolonged exertion or loading’.
Children use correct lifting technique innately
Think of how the things you enjoy doing would be affected and who else would be affected if you had a chronic injury e.g., Socialising, Playing sports, Spending time with family/friends, Holidays etc
Give yourself a free work out – Use the semi squat technique – a lift which resembles the technique used by weightlifters, where the knees and hips are flexed with the back straight but where it is no longer upright
Using the semi squat technique drastically reduces the loading on the lower back and puts it through the more powerful legs and core muscles
Reduce the risk of living with chronic pain and subsequent restrictions on activities you enjoy and those around you – take a proactive approach