Patient Care Ergonomics: Biomechanical Drivers for Patient Handling Technology and Design

Manual patient handling is the primary reason for musculoskeletal injuries in patient care providers, and the understanding of the impact of patient handling on the body leads to a clear understanding why this is so. When the biomechanical capabilities of the body are exceeded, injury occurs. To set industry recommendations that decrease the risk of injury to caregivers from manual patient handling and moving, a patient lifting weight limit was determined, algorithms and guidelines for patient handling tasks were developed, and guidelines for the introduction of patient care ergonomics in design and construction were instituted.