Tag: lifting

Lifting and Carrying a Large Dog

The need to lift dogs is common in small animal clinics. What are some ways that we can make lifting easier and less challenging on our bodies?

In the previous post we talked about some basic principles of lifting and carrying. Today we’ll expand on those ideas look at lifting large dogs.

Workers restrain a standing dog. This restraint posture (one leg kneeling and the other bent) could also be used to lift this dog.

The need to lift dogs is common in any small animal clinic, especially in HQHVSN. The dogs we lift may be awake, sedated, or fully anesthetized, and each type of lift comes with its own challenge. Awake dogs may resist handling and wiggle, while anesthetized or heavily sedated dogs may be loose and floppy and difficult to grip.

What are some ways that we can make lifting easier and less challenging on our bodies?

Standing or Lying Down?

Remember that the height of the lift is a factor in the lift’s difficulty. It’s easier (ergonomically) to lift a standing dog than one who is lying down. (It may not be easier overall if the dog wiggles or resists). The standing dog’s center of mass is higher than the ground and already closer to the lifted position. This means you don’t have to lift that center of mass all the way from the floor to your waist height or to a table.

Lifting a standing dog requires less bending and less muscle effort than lifting a dog who is lying down.

Back, Hips, or Knees?

When lifting from the floor, workers may bend at the knees, hips, or back, or a combination of all three. Generally, we are told to “lift with your legs not your back.” And to some extent this is true: repeated, extreme flexion of the back puts much of the strain of the lift on the vertebral joint end plates. End plate damage may be one of the causes of chronic low back pain.

In the first picture, workers bend at the knees and hips to lift an anesthetized dog from the floor. In the second picture, workers bend at the hips with a slight knee bend and lumbar flexion.

However, the recommendation to avoid any lumbar flexion during lifting is not supported by research. It’s definitely best to avoid extreme lumbar flexion (60o or more), but it is OK to flex the back along with the hips and knees when lifting.

Lifting only with the legs has its down sides as well. People with painful knees or hips may be uncomfortable in the deep squat often portrayed in “proper lifting” diagrams. And bending and lifting at work can make certain workers more prone to knee or hip arthritis.

In the end, the best means of lifting probably involves moderate flexion of the knees, hips, and lower back. The “best” way to lift will vary depending on the specific task and the individual’s strength and pre-existing pain.

Not so good: Here the worker in magenta scrubs is bending mostly with her back rather than with her hips or knees. This lift will put unnecessary strain on her lower back. Also her hold on the dog’s stifle (knee) will not lead to a secure hold once the dog’s feet are off the ground.

Two Person Lifting

The workers are facing the same direction and will coordinate their movements through the clinic.

When lifting as a team, both team members must communicate clearly with each other. Both team members need to know where to position themselves, when to begin lifting, and where to carry the dog. For example, if a dog is to be lifted onto a table, it is important that both lifters know which way the dog should be facing on the table before they position themselves for the lift.

Use simple technology to help

Use technology for your lift! If you need to move a large sedated dog who can’t walk, consider using a stretcher or cart.

Our worker in the previous post used technology (a hand truck) to help transport a cardboard box. Likewise, we can use technology to help move our anesthetized dog. Stretchers and wheeled carts are both useful ways to turn a floppy, hard-to-grip load into a rigid load with handles.

Similarly, lowering a hydraulic table decreases the height of the lift, thereby decreasing its difficulty.

Lifting a dog from the floor to a table is hard, but lowering the table turns a 3 foot lift into an 8 inch lift and requires less effort.

Meanwhile…

I hope you all are staying safe and well. Here, spay neuter clinics go on even as we find ourselves dodging COVID and mud season simultaneously, just as we have the past two years. I feel lucky for the flexibility and adaptability of my vet techs and clinic hosts as we still manage to get those cats spayed before kitten season hits. Thanks y’all!