Posted By Steve Conway One of our employees dislocated his knee when he braced himself by placing his knee against a solid surface to lift a load (20kg). From the injury alone such an approach would appear to be poor practice. However I have come across this approach being recommended when its not possible to bend your knees or get close to an object. e.g. removing objects from a car boot. Any views or previous experiences of this technique would be welcome. Steve when lifting a loa

Posted By steve e ashton When lifting heavy items in/out of a car boot, one method I have seen being promoted by an excellent human kinetics instructor (Doug Payne)is to place one foot into the boot (thats the car boot, not the ankle supporting steel toe capped variety...) This allows you to get your feet ('lifting base') either side of the load - and hence, no twisting or unnecessary strain. Bracing a knee against a wall must surely be poor practice, since it implies the body's centre of gravity will fall outside the base provided by the feet, and will inevitably produce unnecessary strain. I cannot imagine a situation where I would adopt this posture - although I have been known to reach across obstacles to move items whilst supporting (not bracing) my stomach or chest against a secure rail. By the way, the series of films by Doug Payne (Moving on et al) was excellent - anyone still using them? Steve