What People Get Wrong About Lifting Safely
Lifting Safely: what people commonly get wrong, set against what published UK guidance says.
The traditional advice to keep the back perfectly straight is less well supported than simply keeping loads close and manageable.
Key takeaways
- Employer duty: manual handling risk assessment required
- Key principles: keep the load close, avoid twisting, plan the lift
- Most useful single change: Keep the load close to your body.
- Commonest mistake: Twisting while carrying.
- See a doctor if any of the signs under "When to speak to a doctor" below apply to you.
What the guidance actually says
Here is what guidance actually publishes. The rest of the page is measured against it.
| Measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| Employer duty | manual handling risk assessment required |
| Key principles | keep the load close, avoid twisting, plan the lift |
| Evidence for one correct technique | weaker than commonly assumed |
| Strongest protective factor | being conditioned for the load |
Where people go wrong
Each of these is popular. None of it matches the guidance.
- Twisting while carrying
- Lifting beyond your capacity because equipment is inconvenient
- Assuming perfect technique removes all risk
What to do instead
- Keep the load close to your body
- Plan the route and where you will put it down before lifting
- Avoid twisting while loaded; move your feet instead
- Build general strength so loads are within your capacity
The part that is genuinely uncertain
Guidance changes, and it changes because evidence does. The figures above reflect current UK guidance from the bodies named at the foot of this page; where those bodies revise their position, theirs is the account to follow rather than this one.
Where to go next
- Understanding Lifting Safely: A Plain-English Explainer
- A Working Checklist for Lifting Safely
- Lifting Safely — the reference entry
- Posture: What the Evidence Actually Says
- The Evidence on Back Pain at Work, Without the Hype
When to speak to a doctor
Seek urgent assessment for sudden severe back pain with leg weakness, numbness around the genitals or back passage, or bladder or bowel changes. See a GP for pain that does not improve over weeks, or for any numbness or weakness in a limb. Report work injuries to your employer.
Where this comes from
- Health and Safety Executive — manual handling
- NHS — Back pain prevention
How this page was put together
Every figure, recommendation and warning above is taken from the guidance named in Where this comes from. Nothing on this page is inferred, summarised or generalised beyond what those bodies publish: where they give a number, it is their number, and where they are silent, so are we. Pages are rebuilt whenever the underlying record changes. Sign-off by a named clinician, where it has happened, is shown at the top of the page along with the date.
Medical disclaimer
This article is general information, not medical advice. It cannot account for your own history, medication or circumstances. Always speak to a GP, pharmacist or another qualified health professional before making changes that affect your treatment, and never delay seeking medical advice because of something you have read here. In an emergency, call 999.
Spotted something wrong? Report an error on this page. We correct on the page and say what changed.
