ABSTRACT
Some of the well intended guidelines provided to workers to reduce the risk of low back injury often recommend to: “bend the knees and keep the back straight”; never jerk a load — lift slowly and smoothly”; “adjust your chair to keep the back upright and the hips, knees, and elbows at 90 degrees.” These continue to be proliferated despite the fact that very few manual jobs can be performed by “bending the knees,” and in fact some of these well intended guidelines can actually increase the risk of injury! Workers know this, and often return to their former habits. There is a need to examine the evidence to justify recommendations that reduce loading on the tissues at risk and develop recommendations that are applicable to a wide variety of workplace situations.
