CPD – Manual Handling Techniques

In our daily life, one activity usually involves moving, lifting, and carrying items around from one place to another. For example, when you are cleaning your house, you need to move the stuff around to clean the dirty spot. Often, we find light objects for us to carry. However, sometimes we have to carry heavy objects, which increases the risks of injury. This is the reason why you need to learn about manual handling techniques.

Moreover, there are some workplaces that require you to do this as a daily activity, such as construction sites or warehouses. This line of work requires you to move materials frequently, and often, the objects are heavy. Therefore, workers have to master manual handling techniques to save them from any injuries, which will be beneficial for them and their employers.

What are manual handling techniques?

Manual handling techniques are methods people use to move or support objects or items by hand or bodily force. Without proper approaches, it increases the chance of workplace injuries, which can harm the employees’ lives and businesses. These procedures require you to assess loads, recognise if you need mechanical aids or not, and maintain a stable posture throughout the process.

However, not everybody understands how to do manual handling techniques properly. That is why there are courses to train you to master the ability to safely lift, carry, push, pull, and manipulate objects by hand. This will help you minimise the risk of accidents  and ensure safety and efficiency when moving objects around.

Course Introduction

The CPD – Manual Handling Techniques course can help the participants protect themselves from injuries when moving items at work. Not only to reduce the risks but also to provide lifting aids or make improvements to the task, load, or working environment. The learning outcomes from this training for the participants are:

1. Understanding of manual handling techniques
2. Proper posture awareness
3. Ergonomics in the methods
4. Risk assessment and control measure
5. Using equipment and tools

With this information, learners can be more confident of lifting, carrying, or doing any activities involving the approaches. It helps them promote a safe working environment, which will be beneficial for workers and businesses and reduce the cost of work-related injuries. In addition, it is important to follow the law in the UK to provide training to the workers regarding occupational health.

Course Structure

From this course, the participants will learn and increase their awareness about manual handling techniques. They will have the knowledge of how to do physical tasks with proper posture. Also, they will understand more about their capability to transfer materials around without jeopardising safety. This course provides the learners with:

• Introduction to the manual handling techniques
• The risks of physical tasks
• Safe lifting and carrying techniques
• Posture awareness
• Use of lifting aids and equipment

Moreover, the discussion utilised effective approaches in learning through demonstration, real-life scenarios, and interactive questions in the training. The CCM also ensures that the materials come from experts’ knowledge and experience to improve the quality. By the end of the lesson, participants will get certification to prove they have the ability to do manual handling techniques correctly.

Prerequisites

The CPD – Manual Handling Techniques course is available for everyone. There are no requirements needed to join this training. Even though this lesson is suitable for people in workplaces that require physical tasks, everyone should learn the right method to move items. Even at home, there are risks when you are relocating furniture..

Consequences of improper manual handling techniques

In the UK, there are a million workers who suffered a work-related injury or illness around the 2021-2022 period. Almost half a million people have a disorder that comes from improper manual handling techniques. Typically, this kind of trauma comes from repetitive motion, overuse, poor posture, or physical stress on the body. Also, it affects various parts of the body, including the back, neck, shoulders, arms, and legs.

If it is left untreated, those disorders can lead to chronic pain, reduced mobility, and long-term disability. Early detection and proper treatment might give the best chance to manage this condition. However, avoiding these kinds of situations is still the preferable option for you. Here are some conditions caused by improper manual handling techniques:

Back pain

Most of the time, this condition is caused by muscle or ligament strain. It is a result of repeated heavy lifting or a sudden awkward movement that strains back muscles and spinal ligaments. For some people with poor physical health, they can feel painful muscle spasms when straining their back. Also, people with this condition might feel stiffness in their back or even numbness or weakness in the legs or feet.

Carpal tunnel syndrome

Without proper manual handling techniques, people can catch carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). It is a condition where the nerve in your wrist becomes compressed. It causes symptoms like numbness, tingling, pain, and weakness in the hand and fingers, especially in the thumb, index and middle fingers. Usually, it gets worse at night due to pressure on the nerve within the narrow passageway of the wrist. This condition can come from repetitive hand movements.

Tendonitis

This is a condition when a tendon swells after an injury. When someone catches this, it can cause pain and stiffness in the joint and affect how a tendon moves. It is because tendons are the connecter for muscles to bones in the joints, like knees, elbows, and shoulders. If the pain is sudden and severe, it might be a sign of a torn tendon.

Osteoarthritis

When there is repeated stress on the joint, there is a chance you will catch osteoarthritis, especially when you don’t know about proper manual handling techniques. This injury is caused by the cartilage that cushions the ends of bones in your joints and gradually deteriorates. The cartilage acts as a slippery tissue to prevent friction in the joint. If it wears down completely, the bone will rub on the bone and cause pain, stiffness, loss of flexibility, bone spurs, and swelling.

Hernia

Hernia is a condition where one of your abdominal organs pushes through one of the walls of your abdominal cavity. It causes the organ to bulge through an opening or weakness in the muscle or tissue that contains it. Usually, it happens in the lower chest, lower abdominal wall, or midline of the abdomen. You may feel a dull ache or pinching when you catch this injury.

Practise safe manual handling techniques with the College of Contract Management 

Manual handling techniques are one of the most important pieces of knowledge for our daily lives, especially when we often lift, carry, push, and pull objects. These methods will help you to prevent injuries and ensure efficiency when moving items. Without the proper training and knowledge, it might cause injuries such as musculoskeletal disorders, which lead to chronic pain, reduced mobility, and long-term disability.

In the UK, job-related injuries caused by physical tasks are high. It is the reason why the College of Contract Management provides you with the CPD – Manual Handling Techniques course. You can have the knowledge and skills to apply safe and proper approaches when moving objects around. Also, there are studies about risk assessment, posture awareness, and the use of lifting aids to reduce workplace injuries.

Furthermore, this information is important for personal health and workplace productivity. This is why investing in training and following the best practises is important. It prioritises well-being and ensures compliance with the safety regulation. This knowledge and skill is beneficial not only in a working environment but also for personal use.

The CPD – Manual Handling Techniques course is still unavailable for a moment. While waiting for the lecturer’s schedule and the materials, we encourage you to look at other interesting courses on this site. When there are updates, it will be updated through the live session. If you are looking for extra information or have any questions, feel free to contact the CCM team through email.