In order to be able to carry out basic movement sequences from the day-to-day care routine as ergonomically and back-friendly as possible, it is important to observe a few basic principles that help to reduce the burden on the body to a minimum.
Available aids – for example, sliding mats or height-adjustable beds – should be used as much as possible. If possible, work should be done with stretched arms, and for repositioning of residents one’s own body weight should be used.
One of the most demanding activities in the care sector is the repositioning of residents, with whom we have extensively dealt with in the past few weeks as part of our series. Here is the horizontal rearrangement with headrest:
Preparation of the resident
• Both the resident’s legs are positioned
• A sliding sheet lies under the pelvis and the head
Preparation for nursing staff
• Both nursing staffs stand at the head end of the bed and stand offset to each other
• The feet point in the direction of the foot end
• To support the head, the nursing staffs grab the sliding sheet as close as possible to the resident’s head or one of the two nursing staffs puts his arm diagonally under the resident’s upper body
• The nursing staffs’ palms point downwards
• The other hand grips the sliding sheet as close as possible to the resident’s pelvis
Repositioning the resident
• The head is raised slightly
• The body weight is shifted backwards
Here are all the steps in a video:
