Body mechanics is the practice of using your legs, core, and body position — rather than your back — to move weight safely. Caregivers lift, steady, and reposition another person many times a day, and a single careless lift can end a caregiver's ability to provide care at all. The core habits are a wide stable stance, bending at the hips and knees, keeping the load close to your body, and never twisting while bearing weight. Every transfer and repositioning skill in this curation builds on these habits, so they must become automatic before you learn specific techniques.
Body mechanics means using a wide stable stance, bending at the hips and knees, and keeping any load close to the body instead of relying on the back to do the work. Turning should always be done by …