You’ve had the date circled in the calendar for months on end, and now, the big day is in sight. You’ve been excited for this moment ever since that initial house tour, but I bet you aren’t looking forward to shifting all of those cardboard boxes. It might feel good at first – heroic, even. But after a couple of hours, your lower back will be begging you for a lie down.
Fortunately, most injuries that can occur while you’re moving are completely avoidable. With the right amount of preparation and enough discipline, you’ll be able to get through the move without needing personal injury solicitors in Liverpool to come to your rescue.
Don’t Rush
Give yourself the luxury of time. If you need to be out of your old house by a certain date, then don’t wait until the very last minute to shift into gear. Start packing at least five days before moving day. That way, you’ll minimise the amount of pressure and stress, and you won’t feel the need to rush while you’re carrying heavy boxes. If you’re rushing, you’re much more likely to stretch your body beyond its limits and hurt yourself.
Lift Properly
Now, let’s talk technique. We’re humans, not forklifts, so we need to consider the best way to tackle each lift as it comes because they’ll all be a little different.
Bend your knees, keep your back straight, tense your core, and extend your legs with an explosive amount of power to surge through the movement. While you’re lifting, always keep the box close to your body; if youwere to hold it further out, your back would be straining through the movement as it’d be under more pressure, making it vulnerable to injuries.
If something feels too heavy, just don’t lift it. You’ve got nothing to prove. Open up the box and splitup its contents. Yes – this will mean more trips, but I’d take that over having terrible back pain that stops me from sleeping.
Use the Right Equipment
Picture this: there’s a 90-kilogram washing machine in front of you. You’ve got to get it in the van. How do you reckon you’ll do that? Wrapping your arms around it and pulling? Get behind it and push? Sounds like a recipe for disaster. Use common sense. Use the right equipment for the job. In this case, it’d be a dolly or hand truck.
Some must-haves include a good pair of work gloves (available in most hardware shops and garden centres), some lifting straps that will help give you more control, and a back support belt that can give you a bit of extra stability.
Moving is always going to be a bit chaotic. You might lose track of a box or two or have to take a couple more trips than you’d planned, but if you give yourself a bit more time, lift with the proper techniques, and use the correct equipment, then you’ll be much less likely to find yourself discussing the finer points of liability with a firm like Bond Turner after the fact.
