Whether you’re trying to rearrange your house setup or transferring from one place to another, it is strongly recommended that you live the heavy lifting to professional furniture movers to avoid accidents. After all, you can’t put a price on your safety.
But if you absolutely must do it on your own, it is important that you keep the proper body mechanics in mind to avoid any mishaps, particularly backaches and broken bones.
Proper Body Mechanics: What It Is and How You Can Benefit From It
According to the Colorado Spine Institute, body mechanics is the manner or ways we go about our usual routines. It basically covers every physical thing we do: standing, sitting, carrying, lifting, bending, and even sleeping.
Having proper body mechanics can prevent back pain. There are certain pointers you need to remember to achieve the right body mechanics for every situation, but it all starts with your posture.
Although we have been told to “stand up straight” since we were kids, proper posture entails more than that. When your back is too straight, there is a good chance that you feel yourself leaning backward too much, something that may cause your back to ache as much as slouching can.
The idea in having a good posture is to put your spine in a “neutral” position—that is, not too arched backward and not too curved forward.
How to Move Large Furniture the Right Way
After learning about proper body mechanics, it is time to deal with moving your massive furniture. Here is a 6-step guide to help you prevent a backache or a spine injury:
Step #1: Lighten Your Load
While you cannot do anything about the size of your furniture, it will do your back good to lighten it as much as you can. This means that you shouldn’t carry the bookcase with all the heavy books in it to avoid any untoward incidents, like the one depicted in this humorous New Yorker article. The same goes for your dresser and display cabinet.
Step #2: Ask for Help
While it may be tempting to save a couple of bucks, you should never try to move your large furniture alone. If you really don’t want to pay a significant amount for professional movers, you can ask your neighbor, officemate, or cousin nicely and offer drinks afterward.
Step #3: Carry Tall Furniture High and Low
Tall furniture can be a bit tricky to carry, but it is far from impossible. The technique is to carry it horizontally, with both the top and bottom part level with each other. And yes, this means you have to have another person helping you to achieve this.
Step #4: Use Science
The beauty of science is that it makes things in life easier. Cars bring us to wherever we need to go without needing to exert too much effort. The principle is the same for moving large objects. You can use pulleys, sliders, rollers– whatever suits the situation.
Step # 6: Lift with Your Legs
When moving big and heavy objects, you should never bend and twist simultaneously. Make sure that the furniture you need to move is close to and directly in front of you. Having your feet flat on the floor and shoulders apart will also do wonders for your spine after you lift.
Bend your knees and bring the load up to your chest-level. From there, you should return to the neutral position with your spine relaxed and the muscles in your buttocks tightened.
Moving large furniture, while necessary during certain situations, shouldn’t be the cause of back pain or more severe injuries. You should always remember that carrying heavy objects can be done without hurting yourself. Have any situations arisen from your experiences with this topic? Let us know in the comments below!
