In our series „Ergonomic work in nursing professions“ we regularly present instructions for the back-friendly and ergonomic execution of everyday operations in nursing professions. Working in the health service is physically very strenuous and dangerous. It can happen that a nursing staff has to lift up to 1.8 tons in one shift. In the USA alone, 35,000 nursing staffs suffer injuries to the musculoskeletal system every year due to excessive strain.
The instructions were developed in collaboration with a trained ergonomist and physiotherapist. After having dealt with rearrangements with a sliding sheet in the last few weeks, today we show how this step can be carried out with a towel.
Preparation of the resident
• Both the resident’s legs are positioned
• A towel is rolled up and placed under the buttocks
• The resident’s view is towards his navel
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
• The towel is gripped as closely to the resident as possible with the hand furthest away from the bed
• The other hand is pushed under the resident’s shoulder
Repositioning the resident
• The arms remain extended
• The body weight is shifted backwards
Here are all the steps in a video:
