Obesity in Patients and Nurses Increases the Nurse’s Risk of Injury Lifting Patients

As the number of Americans who are overweight and obese grows, the risk of lifting injuries to both patients and nurses increases. Occupational back and other musculoskeletal injuries are preventable; however, many changes in the workplace must occur in order to assure prevention and safe lifting. Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland. INTRODUCTION LIFTING AND MOVING PATIENTS, a frequent part of nursing care in any patient environment, is a high-risk activity that most nurses engage in without considering the potential impact. Nursing consistently rates high among the occupations with back pain and occupationally related back injuries.1,2 One study measured the lifting load of nurses and reported that during an 8-hour shift, a nurse may lift a total of 1.8 tons.3 This article reviews the literature about work-related injury in nurses and discusses how obesity affects caregiver injury. In the literature related to occupational injury in health care workers, the type of injury may be specified, such as back injuries—and the terms may include work-related back pain (WRBP) and work-related low back pain (WRLBP)—or general, such as musculoskeletal injuries or musculoskeletal disorders (MSD). Although many of the data and national statistics about injury are related to back injury, much of the more recent literature that examines the scope of injury in nurses due to lifting and moving patients refers to the general term MSD.