"Bedside nursing. . .renders nurses highly susceptible to back injuries,"
write authors Dr. Sandra K. Allen and Kevin Eilder, both of whom are or
were associated with Indiana State University.
"The primary cause of back injuries among nursing personnel is lifting
and transferring patients," they say. "The typical hospital staff
nurse lifts 20 patents into bed and assists five to 10 patients with transfers
from bed to chair during a shift."
In this study, 47 employees of the Veterans Administration Hospital in
Fort Wayne, IN, were studied over a six-month period. They were divided
into groups--one receiving training in safe lifting practices and one receiving
training plus back support belts.
Training included biomechanics and proper lifting techniques; the experiemental
group also received training in the correct way to wear their back supports.
Back supports were to be worn whenever the subjects were on duty and lifting
patients.
The back belts used in the study were simliar to ones commercially available.
"When used correctly, the back support belt helps to maintain proper
curvature of the spine during lifting," say the authors. "The
belt applies intra-abdominal compression on the lumbar section of the spine.
A better alignment provides better posture and less muscle fatigue."
Total hours worked in six months by the control group were 23, 109 and
three separate back supports were reported. The group wearing support belts
worked 22, 243 hours and reported no back injuries.
"The study also suggests the use of back support belts reduces the
injury incident rate, at least in the short term. . .The use of back suppport
belts warrants further study with a larger sample size and a longer monitoring
period to determine whether the incident rates and time lost from work due
to back injuries are reduced over an extended time period."
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