Lifting assist for petite EMT

[JanetDoe]

No I really didn't ask for peoples "thoughts" desertemt66. I asked for experience or knowledge of doing so and any helpful suggestions. As far as your theory of "responses u didnt WANT to hear" lol im going to backtrack and count but there have been a few responses that werent quite what I "wanted to hear" but were helpful none the less. Like households for example. Not what I "wanted to hear" (whatever that is, according to you) but it was still helpful and more than appreciated by me.

 

[bbmtnbb]

Guilty of using the belt trick-HOWEVER- some make it sound like I am ONLY using my belt...Duh obviously NOT. I use my legs, butt, arms and belt (never my back) some how it just gives a bit more that I need being short and small. I have been doing this daily x 4 days per week x 4 weeks per month x 12 months and no glue failure or buckle failure or dropped pt's, lol. I definitely work out and do lots of squats. I also do the lift in twos. First up to one level and then the finish level to the normal height. It is what I can do and what works for me. I also lift the head as I cannot lift AND manipulate a left hand on the lever. I get wobbly if the pt is heavy (can do on a light weight but just used to the head now). I can do well into 200's on head end (250 gets hard!). You will have to find what works for you!

technique- I pull my arms in close to body with elbows tight to side and hands almost level to my body. (find this stabilizes hands/arms) squat and get legs under the frame and use LEGS to lift. My belt buckle is under the frame but not really using it to lift. It just happens to be there and is a bit of an extra. After I lift to the first height-which in some cases is more than enough to get the gurney into the ambulance- I then reposition my feet and legs and do it again with a tippy toe to finish due to being short. You practice and figure it out I know I am not the only one that uses 'tricks' to make it work when we are not 5'7" ++ I am 5'3" and 110 lbs. Just know YOUR limit and admit it and call for help. No sense hurting you, your partner and your patient trying to be more than you are. Keep heavy duty working out and you will be fine.

 

[mycrofft]

Kevinf, lifting belt and harnesses (such as for medium sized appliances) might allow you to get some loads up, but tying a load to you which you can't lift and might suddenly have to jettison could hurt you very badly.

Hm. You know, despite my misgivings about hanging a patient on my un-purpossed belt buckle or strapping myself to a load I cannot handle on my own, it makes ergonomic sense to transfer weight to the pelvic girdle (as we did in the feed store to carry loads over 100 lbs, load on one shoulder and that hand on the hip). But, I guess so far the best way is still to keep the load close and build up your arms, abs, paraspinals and sacral muscles.

 

[UnkiEMT]

Hm. You know, despite my misgivings about hanging a patient on my un-purpossed belt buckle or strapping myself to a load I cannot handle on my own, it makes ergonomic sense to transfer weight to the pelvic girdle (as we did in the feed store to carry loads over 100 lbs, load on one shoulder and that hand on the hip). But, I guess so far the best way is still to keep the load close and build up your arms, abs, paraspinals and sacral muscles.

That's the problem, though, hanging it from a regular belt (rather than a lifting belt) wouldn't place the load to the pelvic girdle, it'd put it across the (low) lumbar, unless you're wearing your pants awfully low.

 

[Handsome Robb]

Do not ever tie yourself into a system that you could kill you.

I'm assuming you're talking about a rigger's belt? They're not designed with lifting in mind, rather as a tie off point for safety lines, that is what they're meant for.

I've used my in training doing drags with a halo or dragon reins tied off to it to allow me to move big operators in full gear but that's about it.

 

[Kevinf]

Do not ever tie yourself into a system that you could kill you.

I'm assuming you're talking about a rigger's belt? They're not designed with lifting in mind, rather as a tie off point for safety lines, that is what they're meant for.

I've used my in training doing drags with a halo or dragon reins tied off to it to allow me to move big operators in full gear but that's about it.

The intent isn't to be chained to the stretcher for the entire call, but rather just to "hook on" to raise the stretcher or to load it and then you unhook. In a proper world the stretcher would have latch points or a connecting harness and some kind of quick release. Any lateral movement would be done unhooked. Of course power stretchers and winches make this somewhat moot, but not everyone has those.

 

[Handsome Robb]

What scenario are we thinking about here? :wacko:



The intent isn't to be chained to the stretcher for the entire call, but rather just to "hook on" to raise the stretcher or to load it and then you unhook. In a proper world the stretcher would have latch points or a connecting harness and some kind of quick release. Any lateral movement would be done unhooked.

Sorry kill you was an extreme, just a phrase I've been told thousands of times.

A permanently debilitating back injury is pretty close to death. My injury is temporary and it still makes life miserable.

Point is you tie yourself to the stretcher, the lift is botched and the stretcher is dropped. It has now not only taken you to the ground but applied axial, vertical and twisting load to your spine.

No bueno.

 

[NomadicMedic]

Worse yet, imagine using your trouser belt as an unapproved lift/balance aid. Then you drop a patient. That goes badly for everyone.

 

[DesertMedic66]

Worse yet, imagine using your trouser belt as an unapproved lift/balance aid. Then you drop a patient. That goes badly for everyone.

I get an odd image of someone doing this lift, dropping the gurney and the gurney taking the EMTs belt and pants with it to the ground :unsure:

 

[Tigger]

I'll admit I may have used it when I first started and we were expected to lift 325 pound patients alone with a manual cot. Power squat the cot up, have the lower handles on the belt buckle and supported with arms, and then walk it in like usual. My height meant that the lower handles hit right on the buckle with our ambulances, so it wasn't like I was altering my body position to do it, it just sort of happened naturally if you stood close to the cot (as you should be). I don't understand how someone smaller than 6' can do that safely.

Incidentally I later wised up and just started on insisting on lift assists.

 

[Household6]

Our lifting tests used a fixture that designed to make sure we lifted properly. It held the weights about 8 inches out from my body, and if we tipped it to try to "walk" it up, the weights slid sideways. If I tilted it inward and tried to lean back, it spun..

It tore me up, I had to lift 125 pound up a flight of stairs forward, down backward, then up backward and down forward. It wasn't possible to use any kind of tricks or cheats to lift it. The only thing I could do was offset my hands a little bit front and back to prevent it from tipping in or out and spinning on me.

I also wish I would have brought gloves.