Save your back, do powerlifting

Nurses General Nursing

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With proper form and execution you should be performing weight training exercises such as squats & deadlifts. Instead of resting your spinal erector muscles you should be strengthening them.

With chronic non-use, this can lead to atrophy of the muscles and lead to increased injury for floor nurses. This excludes nurses who work in management.......jk

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Specializes in RETIRED Cath Lab/Cardiology/Radiology.

Do you happen to have any articles or resources that support your assertions?

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been lifting for 7 years squats & deadlifts especially. No nagging injuries. I am 30 years old and feel great. I regularly compete and hold my state records. Got all my information on proper form from the bodybuilding.com forums.

As nurses we can't just promote health, we must live it, we must be an example. WE HAVE THE KNOWLEDGE to know that with a sedentary lifestyle, your muscles will atrophy, leading to a greater risk of injury.

I shouldn't have to hear all these nurses and nurse aides in their 20s complaining of back pain all the time. Stop lifting patients with a rounded back, go strengthen your back and do squats and deadlifts in the gym with weights to build muscle. Especially build the spinal erector muscles.

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Specializes in RETIRED Cath Lab/Cardiology/Radiology.

What can also help prevent injuries is a "no lift" policy at facilities, who will also spend the time and money to implement comprehensive programs to install hoyer lifts in every room, and to educate staff to USE them.

It certainly doesn't hurt to stay in shape!

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Specializes in ICU, ER, Home Health, Corrections, School Nurse.

I don't know if nurses all have to be powerlifters, but I do think that some kind of strength training, is very helpful. Even with "no lift" policies, you still need a lot of strength to do nursing. Pushing a 350 pound patient in a 1000 lb bed down a hallway, turning patients, lifting them up in bed when they slide down, pushing and pulling them in and out of CT machines, holding up a heavy leg when someone is doing a dressing change, the list goes on and on. If you are not in shape, you will end up at the very least, very sore, or worse, with back injuries. Even in my 60's I stay in shape and work out, and half the time I run circles around some of the younger nurses who are always complaining about back pain, being exhausted, etc.

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Specializes in RETIRED Cath Lab/Cardiology/Radiology.

At our facility every patient has a lift sheet (not just a sheet: to be used w/the hoyer lift, located in every room) under him, to be used when turning, holding leg up for dressing changes, etc. The gurneys and beds all have motors, to assist with "driving" when transporting (so the staff is not pushing). These all help!

Agree to keep fit as well, for our own health!

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Specializes in ICU, ER, Home Health, Corrections, School Nurse.
20 minutes ago, dianah said:

. The gurneys and beds all have motors, to assist with "driving" not pushing).

I've never even heard of such a thing, you guys are lucky! Everytime I had to move a patient in a bed from ICU, down the hall, into the elevator, down another hall and then transfer the patient, boy I could feel it. And the "steer" mechanism never worked right so it was miserable!

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7 hours ago, dianah said:

What can also help prevent injuries is a "no lift" policy at facilities, who will also spend the time and money to implement comprehensive programs to install hoyer lifts in every room, and to educate staff to USE them.

It certainly doesn't hurt to stay in shape!

sounds like a dream lol

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Specializes in Surgical, quality,management.

No!!!!!

While I agree that we should be strengthening our core, awareness of posture and the like, something like Pilates would be more beneficial.

Power lifting is where people lift evenly distributed weights that don't fight back.

Patients are uneven, resistive to care, due to their condition need modifying hand positions that put caregivers at risk. Over confidence in a person strength is how injuries can occur. HoverMatts, hoists, powered wheelchairs, a machine that can be attached to a bed to push it, slide sheets, power tilting recliners in aged care are what is needed.

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Specializes in tele, ICU, CVICU.
17 hours ago, JackdLPN said:

been lifting for 7 years squats & deadlifts especially. No nagging injuries. I am 30 years old and feel great. I regularly compete and hold my state records. Got all my information on proper form from the bodybuilding.com forums.

As nurses we can't just promote health, we must live it, we must be an example. WE HAVE THE KNOWLEDGE to know that with a sedentary lifestyle, your muscles will atrophy, leading to a greater risk of injury.

I shouldn't have to hear all these nurses and nurse aides in their 20s complaining of back pain all the time. Stop lifting patients with a rounded back, go strengthen your back and do squats and deadlifts in the gym with weights to build muscle. Especially build the spinal erector muscles.

You're right: we shouldn't have to hear such young nurses complain of back pain. We should have facilities dedicated to help maintain the health & longevity of their employees' careers (hoyer lifts, drive motors). And in nursing school, we learn that theory is often much different than reality but they should not be.

I may be a female & weaker (sorry to assume but you sound male, from statements made). However, I also held quite a few records for weightlighting, squats, deads, legpress and on and on. I could bench more than half the damn football team in HS and leg press more than 75% (I'm quite proud of that one ? ) Very serious & obviously effective health habits since I was 12 & continued these and more good habits. However, I was 26 & not even one year out of nursing school when one bad lift killed my back.

It's not all strength. It may help a bit but please don't group all bad back nurses into one cookie cutter group.

I'm sorry if I was rude, but you offended me... (ur site does seem accurate but perhaps a .gov or .edu site mite be more reputable when researching & proving credibility)

I hope your back holds up ?

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6 hours ago, crazin01 said:

You're right: we shouldn't have to hear such young nurses complain of back pain. We should have facilities dedicated to help maintain the health & longevity of their employees' careers (hoyer lifts, drive motors). And in nursing school, we learn that theory is often much different than reality but they should not be.

I may be a female & weaker (sorry to assume but you sound male, from statements made). However, I also held quite a few records for weightlighting, squats, deads, legpress and on and on. I could bench more than half the damn football team in HS and leg press more than 75% (I'm quite proud of that one ? ) Very serious & obviously effective health habits since I was 12 & continued these and more good habits. However, I was 26 & not even one year out of nursing school when one bad lift killed my back.

It's not all strength. It may help a bit but please don't group all bad back nurses into one cookie cutter group.

I'm sorry if I was rude, but you offended me... (ur site does seem accurate but perhaps a .gov or .edu site mite be more reputable when researching & proving credibility)

I hope your back holds up ?

no offense taken, I did emphasize "with proper form and execution. All nurses dont have to be powerlifters but we should train like powerlifters. Powerlifting is one of the safest sports on the world. We emphasize using intraabdominal pressure in each of the lifts to maintain spine neutrality.

Also the fact that you emphasize the leg press showed you did not prioritize the squats and deadlifts. If you prioritized them you would do them with proper form as well. Most beginners think the ultimate feat of strength is the leg press when in fact it is not.

"The king of all exercises" aka the barbell back squat is a better indicator of overall health. You have to squat all the way down and stand back up while balancing the bar on your shoulders. You work all the stabilizer muscles like your back and abs whereas the leg press you are just pressing on a fixed track.

Doing a well executed deadlift with a straight back is much better for you in the long run, it will prevent you from being in a wheelchair like some of our patients. Like you said 1 bad lift. When performing these exercises you should be performing them with correct form and using intrabdominal pressure.

I'm 30 years old and my back is fine because I emphasize proper form and bracing techniques, I dont go balls to the wall and train smart. My girlfriend is holding records too, females can train safely as well.

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8 hours ago, K+MgSO4 said:

No!!!!!

While I agree that we should be strengthening our core, awareness of posture and the like, something like Pilates would be more beneficial.

Power lifting is where people lift evenly distributed weights that don't fight back.

Patients are uneven, resistive to care, due to their condition need modifying hand positions that put caregivers at risk. Over confidence in a person strength is how injuries can occur. HoverMatts, hoists, powered wheelchairs, a machine that can be attached to a bed to push it, slide sheets, power tilting recliners in aged care are what is needed.

injuries occur because caregivers backs are weak and most lift with rounded backs. This thread is to show yes it is ok to weight train but with proper form. You SHOULD be weight training if you dont want to break your back before you retire.

All this time is spent in school going for higher degrees/certifications. All that time in classes making your hipflexors and back tight, only to graduate then try to work the floor more only to hurt your back even more.

I never ever see this topic come up but I see more nurses and nurse aides dropping out because of back pain and they are not even 40 yet!

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