Lifting heavy objects requires skill and strength, and when your job requires lifting on a regular, repetitive basis, it's something that you need to get to grips with and understand how to lift correctly.
When lifting heavy items, your body will be using a series of muscles, mainly the quadriceps, gluteal muscles, and abdominal muscles, which should be used instead of the commonly mistaken back, or posture muscles. This applies to most types of lifting as they are the muscles that will give you stability for your movements. In order to avoid major injury, you just need to remember to lift with your legs, not your back.
The importance of lifting correctly:
As many of us know, lifting incorrectly can lead to injuries with both short and long term effects, resulting in a loss of work. One of the long-term effects of lifting incorrectly can be a lower back injury caused by putting strain on the low back structures, which over time can result in serious injuries, including Musculoskeletal disorders (MSD). Injuries can include muscles, nerves, tendons, joinery, cartilage, and spinal discs. If not treated properly, the injury could persist and continue to get worse, meaning that if your trade requires lifting, you may be unable to perform critical parts of your role. Possible MSDs from improper lifting include:
Injury can be caused incredibly quickly if you're not following proper lifting practices, by something as simple as twisting oddly or lifting an item over your head, which is why you need to be sure you are lifting correctly every time.
How can the Grabo help and prevent injury?
Repetitive lifting within construction is a common part of a job description, meaning that you need to ensure strict adherence to lifting techniques when manual handling. The Grabo helps minimise any strain that your body may face when lifting. Utilising a product like the Grabo is considered good practice to ensure that the risk of repetitive lifting injuries is minimised. This is due to the vacuum created between the suction cup and the product. The Grabo supports better body positioning when lifting, enabling you to carry the weight close to the body and near waist height (the best way to carry anything), rather than away from the body and with outstretched arms, which is often the only option when carrying material by its edges alone. Using the Grabo correctly in this way reduces the effect of the weight on your body and muscles.
The Grabo:
The Grabo is the world's first portable electric suction cup and vacuum lifter. It has taken the construction industry by storm, quickly becoming the most desirable tool to have on-site. To learn more about the Grabo and the Grabo Pro, and see how they can help your daily working life, get in touch today.
