AORN Ergonomic Tool 3: Lifting and Holding the Patient's Legs, Arms, and Head While Prepping

Abstract

Lifting the arms, legs, or head of a patient while prepping these areas for surgery can exert strong forces on the muscles and joints of the shoulders and backs of perioperative team members who perform this task, which may lead to work-related musculoskeletal disorders. AORN Ergonomic Tool 3: Lifting and Holding the Patient's Legs, Arms, and Head While Prepping provides scientifically based determinations of the amount of weight perioperative personnel can safely lift and hold manually for up to one, two, and three minutes using one hand or both. If these weight limits are exceeded, additional staff members or assistive devices are needed to help with the task.

Exercise, fitness and musculoskeletal health of undergraduate nursing students: A cross‐sectional study

“…Isometric strength may also be important in dynamic power‐related activities (Juneja, Verma, & Khanna, ). The maximum weights of patient legs and arms that can be safely lifted and held for ≤2 min by adult female personnel in perioperative settings is 5.03 kg for a one‐handed lift and 10.1 kg for a two‐handed lift (Waters et al., ). Using Waters et al.…”

“…Using Waters et al. 's () tool, the normalized mass of each leg for the average Australian adult male weighing 85.9 kg (ABS, ) would be approximately 14–17 kg, each arm 4–6 kg and the head 7–9 kg. A leg would be too heavy for a one‐handed or two‐handed lift, while the arm and head could be safely lifted two‐handed but not held for 1 min.…”

Workplace Safety Equals Patient Safety

“…A partnership between AORN, the Veterans Health Administration, and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health resulted in development of a series of ergonomic guidelines for safe patient handling in the OR environment 18‐25 . The guidelines incorporated the latest scientific knowledge in biomechanics, psychophysics, and physiology to develop safe recommended exposure limits for various patient handling and lifting tasks with high risk of causing musculoskeletal disorders, such as back and shoulder disorders.…”

“…The guidelines incorporated the latest scientific knowledge in biomechanics, psychophysics, and physiology to develop safe recommended exposure limits for various patient handling and lifting tasks with high risk of causing musculoskeletal disorders, such as back and shoulder disorders. The guidelines address recommendations for transferring a patient laterally from a stretcher to an OR bed, 19 positioning a patient on an OR bed, 20 lifting and holding the patient's limbs, 21 prolonged standing in the OR, 22 manual retraction tasks, 23 lifting supplies and equipment in the OR, 24 and pushing and pulling wheeled objects and equipment 25 From a safety engineering standpoint, the data used to derive the guidelines (ie, muscle strength capability, spinal force limits, and physiological fatigue limits) were selected with the goal of providing a safe level of exposure for nearly all OR personnel.…”

Introducing a New Technique for Limb Prepping in Orthopedic Surgeries

“…Whenever these weight limits are exceeded, additional staff or assistive devices are needed to minimize the risk of muscle fatigue and MSDs (Waters et al, 2011).…”