Warm Up Before You Start Lifting
Before you get started, take some time to warm up your muscles. This includes stretching your arms, legs, and back. Once you get do started make sure you don’t overdo things by carrying too much at a time. One item that can really help out during a move is a dolly. It’s also good to ask others for help moving an item when in any doubt rather than putting your back at risk.
Know How To Use Your Hands In The Right Way
When you are grabbing things make sure you use your open palms with your fingers spread out. This helps to protect your back by making sure you have a secure grip. It helps to prevent you from losing your grip on something, making an awkward move to hold on, and your back ends up being strained from the effort.
Learn How To Lift Heavy Objects
You should lift objects with your legs, arms, and abdominal muscles rather than your back. Bend your knees to pick things up rather than bending over which can put too much stress on your back. Make sure you don’t arch your back and always maintain a good posture. If you need to lift something overhead you should use a ladder whenever possible. Keep your movements smooth and slow as janky movements can lead to big back issues.
Pull Rather Than Push Your Belongings
Pulling heavy things puts less strain on your back and overall body than pushing does. Pulling uses your body weight to your advantage while pushing uses it against you. By pulling you don’t put undue pressure on your back and cause a strain in one of its muscles.
Try To Keep Things Just Below Waist Height
If you’re dealing with heavy objects then lift them up to your waist, keeping it close to your body. If you are holding objects higher than this it puts quite a bit of stress on your arm and back muscles. You can easily pull a muscle if the thing you are lifting is more than it turns out you can safely lift. If you do need to lift things up to your chest or higher than get help from someone helping you with the move.
Consider Hiring A Moving Company
While you will still need to pack up your belongings you can avoid a lot of back injuries by hiring a good moving company. They have the equipment and expertise to safely move your belongings out to a truck, transport it to the new place, and unpack it all safely. It might be a bit more expensive than doing everything DIY but you can save your body a lot of wear and tear which can be even more expensive to have treated.
