title: 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.
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Cincinnati,OH, USA.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Waters
authors.forename: Patrice
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Spera
authors.forename: Carol
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Petersen
authors.forename: Audrey
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nelson
authors.forename: Edward
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Hernandez
authors.forename: Shawn
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Applegarth
mesh_terms: D006804:Ergonomics; D006801:Humans; D007103:Immobilization; D009142:Musculoskeletal Physiological Phenomena; D012956:Societies, Nursing