There are a few key things you need to be aware of when lifting. Understanding these things will allow
you to lift much more safely and more effectively.
1. Keep your spine in the middle.
This is called the neutral spine. Basically if you flex (round your spine ) then arch your spine and
find the middle between these two spots you have the neutral spine. Biomechanically this is the
safest position to keep your spine in when you lift. The BackAware Belt is designed to allow you
to know you are holding this position as the belt will vibrate if you move out of this position. Before
you lift adjust so you get into the middle position and then just quickly take a sharp blow out of
breath, nearly like you would if you were spitting. This will help keep your back in the same
position throughout.
2. Push your hips back as far as possible when going down into a lift.
This is the thing I see done the least and makes the biggest impact to lifting technique. The glutes
at the hips are the biggest muscles in the body for a reason. They should be taking the most force
when lifting. Unfortunately, people either bend through their back or just bring their knees forward
which can make it difficult to take much pressure. By pushing your hips back, you start to use the
hips which can really help safe your back.
3. Keep your chest up.
This continues on from the first point where you don’t want to round or curve your low back during
a lift. Keep your chest up it will help to keep your lower back out of a flexed position.
4. If saying in a bended position put one hand on your thigh.
This point relates to gardening mainly. If you are bent over to pick weeds have one hand on your
thigh. This reduces by half the amount of stress going through your spine. This is because now
the hand through the thigh takes about half and the other half can be divided between your hips
and back.
5. Be careful with the weight.
Check the weight out before you lift it. If it feels too heavy get help. If might be inconvenient at
that time but lifting something too heavy can have long term consequences so it is better to take a
little bit of time to save a lot of time and heart ache with back pain in the future.
