The influence of load knowledge on lifting technique

The purpose of this study was to analyse the influence of load knowledge on lifting technique. Ten men lifted a box containing either no weight or weights of 150, 250 or 300 N with and without knowledge of what was inside the box. The kinetics and kinematics of the lift were analysed using a force plate, an optoelectronic motion analysis system, and a rigid body link model. At 0 N lifting, the unknown load resulted in a jerk-like motion and a significantly increased peak L5-S1 flexion-extension moment. At 150 N there was also a significant increase in the speed of trunk extension with unknown weights, but the L5-S1 moment remained unchanged. At higher load levels there were only minor differences between lifting techniques when knowing and not knowing the load. We conclude that lifts are approached assuming a certain weight, and that when the assumption is wrong and the load lighter than anticipated lifting is performed with a 'jerking' motion, creating unnecessary loads on the lower back.