Moving Furniture Without Injury: How to move like a professional moving company

Disclaimer: always consult with your medical professional before starting any heavy lifting activity. THIS IS NOT MEDICAL ADVICE , just my personal experiene.

Over the years of lifting heavy sometimes cumbersome pieces of furniture, construction debris and other “back breaking” items. I have learned a thing or two about lifting and avoiding injury. Please stay with me while I give you a bit of background on myself.

My quest for avoiding injury while working started when I was 18 years old

It all started when I decided to join the military.

If you get injured in basic combat training they will “recycle” you and extend your beautiful stay in the land of 2 minute meals, forced 5am wake ups and other torture.

No one wants to get injured period!

Luckily, I was able to do a tour overseas and a tour of humanitarian assistance in New Orleans without getting injured. Got out, and decided I wanted to start a business in which I could be active but at the same time do something positive.

Now fast forward a few years and there I am running an eco-friendly junk removal service in the beautiful San Francisco Bay. One thing I noticed that plagued some of my customers was back ache from injury. I have been asked many times if my back hurts from all the heavy lifting I’ve done over the years.

Never. Sore from a good work out but from injury ? Never

I am not an expert in movements nor carry any credentials to the like other than having literally moved tons and tons of debris injury free.

How?

I approach lifting anything as if I were going to do a deadlift or a squat. That really is what I have been doing and I feel great. Keeping your back straight never arching it. Always squatting to pick something up no matter how trivial it may seem.

Twisting is a big thing I avoid especially while lifting.  As a cardinal rule I never lift anything while twisting my back.

Always pivot with your legs if you must hand someone an item. Make a conscious and clear effort to do these things on a regular basis.

Get in touch with your body and your movements and I assure you you will be a lot happier. Even mundane tasks can hurt your back if you are not careful. Remember ladies and gentleman it only takes one time. There is no room for error here.

I would recommend everyone to look in the mirror and master lifting technique. It may seem trivial but even if you are a sedentary individual it will improve the quality of your life.  Next time you bend over to pick up the cellphone you dropped please think about squatting and not taking the “easy way”.