Back Support

[the kid]

I am looking at getting a back brace / lumbar support.

 

I do lifts correctly etc but there are always those times when perhaps after the 20th slab of deck up some stairs, perhaps a brace is nice to have. I have seen a few but really dont know what is good or bad.

 

Does anyone have any history with them and what to look for ?

[indyld]

I used to use one of those leather weight lifting belts although I generally used it fairly loose to keep my posture good rather than done up tight for support. Seemed to help at the time.

 

At the end of the day, not getting involved in silliness like hoiking deck up and down stairs was the only way I was able to really sort my back. The Diazepam, painkillers and anti-inflamms were just a temporary solution to a problem that is basically exacerbated by manual handling in our business.

 

Have seen a few people wearing the neoprene ones, usually for short term support while they are carrying an injury.

[the kid]

Its not a regular occurrence doing such big moving, but when it does happen its less fun.

 

If I can use something to be preventative I would rather do that.

[kerry davies]

At the risk of being shot down in flames, if you are finding the weight and frequency of lifting is causing you back pain, STOP! Carry out a TILE assessment and take measures to reduce the risk.

 

Task: Effort required, position of load, posture, frequency, distance.

Individual: Capability, experience, training, health status.

Load: Shape and size, weight, contents, handles and grips.

Environment: Access, space, floor surface and levels.

 

If you really think you need to use what weight lifters, who are operating at the extremes, use then you are putting too much strain on your back. Get more help. Use mechanical aids. Take more rests. Don't create a possible lifelong problem.

[bigclive]

I don't even understand how those stretchy back supports are supposed to even work. I saw them being used by everyone in America, but not here. To me they could actually pull your spine in and make things worse.

 

As for bodybuilding belts. They're just a fashion accessory for posers. I used to use one for training but it was fairly pointless for the reason mentioned above.

 

It really is down to making sure you lift things correctly and don't overdo it. Hard to guarantee in this industry though. So many awkward loads and the often unpredictable behaviour of those helping you lift them.

[sameness]

When I was on the cruises a year or so ago they used to make all the porters etc wear the back supports as standard. Then there was a sudden turnaround in policy, they were now banned. Mainly because people would lift too much and hurt themselves, but because the support was done up tight it wasnt as noticeable, and therefore they ended up doing more damage than they would have without.

[Roderick]

At the risk of being shot down in flames, if you are finding the weight and frequency of lifting is causing you back pain, STOP! Carry out a TILE assessment and take measures to reduce the risk.

 

Task: Effort required, position of load, posture, frequency, distance.

Individual: Capability, experience, training, health status.

Load: Shape and size, weight, contents, handles and grips.

Environment: Access, space, floor surface and levels.

 

If you really think you need to use what weight lifters, who are operating at the extremes, use then you are putting too much strain on your back. Get more help. Use mechanical aids. Take more rests. Don't create a possible lifelong problem.

Hadn't heard of TILE assessments, like the concept!

I'll be using that in training sessions.

[kerry davies]

TILE or TILEO (O = Other Factors???) are all over various websites for Manual Handling Regs 1992 risk assessments, Roderick. What I like about them is the "Individual" bit. Big bloke, big weight. Small bloke, small weight.

 

There are some good examples of TILE on the HSE website but there are some better ones on the ac.com websites of universities.

 

Thanks to sameness for making the point that; "they ended up doing more damage than they would have without." Just like painkillers merely mask things then so do lumbar supports more often than not.

[kitlane]

As a Manual handling trainer my advice has always been that a back support or weightlifting belt should not be used.

 

This study of baggage handlers found that a weightlifting belt did not reduce the risk of lower back injury

 

Another major studyat a USAF base drew similar conclusions

Yet another study of almost 14,000 retail workers concluded :-

 

"In the largest prospective cohort study of back belt use, adjusted for multiple individual risk factors, neither frequent back belt use nor a store policy that required belt use was associated with reduced incidence of back injury claims or low back pain."

 

This article is quite useful.

 

As others have stated, if the work is starting to cause pain then a back support isn't going to help. 80% of the population suffer lower back pain at some point in their lifetime. Most of those have not experienced a single traumatic event that caused the injury. It is the slow, cumulative effects of regular, little 'niggles' that will get you eventually.

 

There is some evidence that a weightlifters belt can provide a couple of extra newtons of lifting force in a lift by an 'elastic' recoil effect but in order to do so the back must be not in the neutral position (i.e. bent and therefore not in a safe lifting posture).

 

The TILE system of assessment is described in the ACOP for the MH Regs so it is pretty much the de facto method. It does require some specific knowledge (aspects of biomechanics, for example) to produce a full, detailed assessment of a complex task.

[the kid]

Huh, I really really was going down the line of it being a good thing, and not woo.

 

I guess its back on to pills, and being a bit more careful.

[ImagineerTom]

I guess its back on to pills, and being a bit more careful

If at your age you're already experiencing regular lower back pain then you're doing something very very wrong. Get yourself checked out by a medic, get yourself signed up to a gym and get a training program that improves your core strength (not actual weightlifting or running machines) to ensure that your muscles are in tip-top condition, get used to warming up properly before doing any lifting (literally 20second of prep will make a massive difference to your injury rate) and start re-evaluating your workload as shifting 20 pieces of deck (across anything other than flat open space) in a single session suggests you're over-worked/under staffed for the job.

[gyro_gearloose]

I guess its back on to pills, and being a bit more careful

...or just get wheel boards/sack trucks/piano dollies. While they aren't always suitable, sticking some wheels under anything heavy makes it so much easier to move. You might think its obvious, but I've seen people struggling to carry something awkward and/or heavy past our wheel boards on the way in to stage...

[the kid]

I think it is overall body issue, I have various things just wrong.

 

We are not understaffed, so there is also the chance its just me needing to be more careful, which I will be.

 

ps I LOVE wheels, if I could put wheels on everything I would.

 

pps the deck is somewhat hyperbole but those occasions do happen ... very very occasionally, and its more "usual lifting" that happens

[ImagineerTom]

The advice still stands, get checked out, get a health program going to ensure you're in fighting-fit condition and re-appraise the lifting you're doing to make sure you're doing it smart. Using a double pulley instead of a single one, choosing flightcases with removable lids so stuff can come straight out of the case and up in one motion, ramps, wheels, all stuff that costs very little; doesn't slow down your workflow but does eliminate so much injury potential.

 

I spent a chunk of my early 20's leaping around on stilts as a (stupidly lucrative) side job in clubs; I got injured and pain regularly but popped painkillers and put it all down to "normal" side effect of the job. My knees are now completely screwed up because of this but my colleagues who did proper warmups and re-appraised the works they did to ensure they reduced the damaging stuff are now all still working just fine...

[kitlane]

+1 to the advice to do a warm up. How many of us warm up before starting a heavy get-out? Not many, I would wager. Yet warming up before a run or gym session would be taken for granted.