How to protect your back when moving heavy items

If you work in construction or manufacturing you might find that you are often moving large heavy items around. It is important that you ensure that you are looking after your back when you do this kind of work, as over time you can find that muscle strain and tension can set and back injuries can also occur.

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Here are some ways that you can protect your back when moving heavy items.

Strength – keeping your back strong is one way that you can help to prevent injuries from occurring. This might mean undertaking some exercises that can help to strengthen the muscles in your back.

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Manual handling – there are a number of courses that you can take that will show you the best ways to lift items to help protect your back. These include reminding you to bend your knees when you pick items up and to lift them in the correct way.

Equipment – if equipment such as Pallet Trucks from forkliftandpallettrucks.ie/ is available, make sure that you use these to move heavy and awkwardly shaped items. You should ensure that you know how to use these pieces of equipment safely. Your employer should be able to talk you through the best ways to do this and may have an in house trainer that can walk you through the safety protocols.