Lifting causes more injuries than most other basic motions in human life

But the vast majority of these injuries are entirely avoidable. They stem from the fact that we ignore our time-honored advice of lifting with our legs and hips and instead lift with the back. This overloads the tendons and ligaments which support the spine, and are not designed to bear heavy loads. The muscles or your legs are much more adept at propelling themselves while bearing weight. Whether you are moving houses, lifting a box of paper, or a child, you need to be mindful about this motion! If the object is on the floor 

Remember these three maxims for lifting. 

1. Bend with the hips, not from the hips.
2. Keep your chest facing forward
3. Bear the weight close to your body 

When picking up an object from below your waist, you want to squat down close to the object and get a good grip on it. But at this point, many people forget to keep their chest facing forward, which is the most crucial piece! A forward facing chest ensures that your spine remains as straight as possible and doesn’t suffer from the compression involved in bending. Use the power in your legs to spring upward and voila! You have probably negated the majority of your risk for injury. 

Smart spinal health solutions start with savvy lifting

Take care of your spine, it’s the only one you’ve got. This is the maxim that we live by at Holmes Chiropractic and we want to help you turn this from a maxim into action. We have all the tools you need to protect your spine from injury, rehabilitate an existing one, or ease the severity of chronic back pain. Give our office in Houston a call to schedule an appointment today.