Very few people haven’t hurt themselves lifting something “the wrong way.”  At the least, we’ve all been told by our favorite uncle or our overprotective mother to “lift with the legs.”  But what does that actually mean?

As an orthopedic surgeon, I see all sorts of injuries, resulting from both recreation and work related injuries.  Certain activities put people at more risk of injuries than others; particularly, lifting heavy objects, such as what furniture movers do all day.

Did you know that over eighty percent of people will miss work and see a doctor at some point in their life for treatment of low back pain?  That's just low back pain!  Other injuries to the rest of the body’s bones, joints, muscles, tendons and ligaments are responsible for a great deal more days off from work.

Generally speaking, moving heavy objects can damage our bodies tremendously; bones can break, ligaments can tear and muscles can become strained.  Any one of these injuries can mean a trip to the doctor and weeks, even months out of work and playing any kind of sports.

Let’s talk about the specific body parts that can sustain injuries from lifting heavy objects.

Specifically, moving a large article of furniture can cause a herniated disk in the back, usually in the lumber spine (lower back) or cervical spine (neck).  The spine is made up of 33 vertebrae, which are the bones that surround and protect the spinal cord and nerves that go out to the arms and legs.  The back feels pressure from just about any movement you do, especially those encountered from moving.  It is important to keep the back straight to spread that pressure correctly; after all, it IS called a spinal column.  Columns are meant to be straight.  If there is too much of a bend in the spine while lifting a heavy object, this incorrectly distributes the forces, and can do damage.  A herniated disk is when the soft cushion between the vertebrae protrudes out and presses on a nerve.  This can cause pain down the arms and legs and usually requires a course of physical therapy, but sometimes needs an injection of steroid anti-inflammatory medication or even surgery!

Shoulders can be affected by causing as little as an inflammation, such as bursitis or tendonitis, or even worse, a rotator cuff tear, which is an injury to the muscles that stabilize the shoulder’s ball in its socket.  Many patients, especially young and active ones who cannot operate their arm normally after such injuries require arthroscopic surgery if nonoperative methods fail.

The elbow and hand can also have similar injuries to the ones discussed, such as torn ligaments or tendons making these smaller joints unstable, which sometimes requires reconstructive surgery.

In the lower extremity, especially the hip and knee, forces that are seven to eight times one’s body weight cross the joints with every step of normal walking.  Now imagine what kind of forces cross the joint with lifting heavy objects! It’s like suddenly gaining 200 pounds.  The ligaments/muscles surrounding these joints are made to withstand a tremendous amount of force, but there is a breaking point.  It is therefore very important to keep the structures that surround the joints strong, and take breaks to prevent overexertion of the muscles.  If the muscles are tired, they may give out while lifting something heavy and result in a serious injury.

Besides the acute injuries that can occur from moving heavy objects, doing this kind of activity for a long period of time can put you at risk of developing disabling arthritis many years after you no longer work for the furniture moving companies.  Osteoarthritis, known also as “wear and tear” arthritis, is degeneration of the cartilage on the ends of our bones that allows our joints to glide smoothly.  This is usually related to activities that, for many years, put a lot of force, sometimes excessive force, across our joints.  Particularly, the knees and then the hips are the most prone to the long term damages of heavy lifting.  I perform more and more knee and hip replacements in patients in their fifties and even in their forties than surgeons in the generation before me ever performed, and a lot of this is directly related to the damage done by years and years of baby-boomers abusing their bodies.  In fact, this year, orthopedic surgeons will perform over 600,000 knee replacements and 300,000 hip replacements in the United States; that number is expected to rise exponentially over the next few years.

As a last thought, perhaps the most important thing to keep in mind (besides not dropping the couch on your foot!) if you are planning on doing such strenuous activity as working for a moving company for a living is not just knowing what sort of injuries you can sustain, but how to prevent them.  That brings us back to the beginning of the article and how not to lift "the wrong way."  Staying in proper overall shape by conditioning the body to sustain such loads as those encountered when moving heavy objects is of utmost importance.  Not putting the body in positions that make it prone to injury is one of the ways to protect it.  The recommended way of lifting something heavy is by bending from the knees, keeping the back as erect as possible (perpendicular to the ground like a column holding up a ceiling), and pushing up off the feet, calves, knees and thighs, rather than bending from the lower back and hips to lift something up; think of yourself as squeezing out a tube of toothpaste from the bottom to top!  Also, slow and steady motion, rather than sharp motions can prevent injuries to the structures we discussed.

Additionally, wearing braces such as lower back supports can help prevent injuries to the back while moving furniture and other heavy objects.  They provide somewhat of a scaffold around the lower back, that helps relieve some of the pressure.

Let’s not forget that in order for an elite athlete to perform at his or her best on the field during a game, there is a tremendous amount of training that goes into preparing the body for such strenuous exertion.  If you work as a mover, think of yourself as a star athlete, and when you are moving furniture, you are on the field, but if you didn’t properly train beforehand, you will not be performing at your best, and even put yourself at risk of injury.

Be careful!