Mechanical Power-Drive Reduces the Stress on the Back

Abstract

Nursing continues to be an occupation that experiences high levels of low back and shoulder injuries. Transferring patients in a bed or stretcher is one potential handling task that could lead to back injuries. The loads on the back could potentially be reduced by utilizing a power-drive intervention and was the focus of the current study. Twelve participants completed the transferring conditions utilizing a general hospital bed and stretcher with and without power-drive. The peak and cumulative three-dimensional spine loads were significantly reduced (between 7.5% and 20%) when using the powerdrive. The results provide some evidence that the addition of a power-drive mechanism on a bed or stretcher could potentially be effect in reducing the risk of low back injuries for nurses who transfer patients often.