The influence of bed height as a percentage of participant height on low back forces when boosting a patient up in bed

BACKGROUND: Repositioning patients is a frequent task for healthcare workers causing substantial stress to the low back. Patient handling methodologies that reduce low back load should be used. Some studies have observed the effect of bed height on back forces using a limited range of heights. This study details a wider range. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to discover an optimal bed height for reducing low back force when boosting a patient. METHODS: 11 university students and local residents participated by completing a series of boosts with a 91.6 kg research assistant acting as dependent. The bed was adjusted 3% of participant height and 3 boosts were completed at each height which resulted in 8–10 different bed heights depending on the height of the participant. Motion and force data were collected to estimate low back forces via 3DSSPP. Pearson’s R was performed to observe the correlation between percent caregiver height and low back forces. RESULTS: There were significant negative correlations between bed height and low back compression force at L4-L5 (r = –0.676, p = <0.001) and L5-S1 (r = –0.704, p = <0.001). There were not significant correlations with any shear forces. CONCLUSION: The highest bed height led to decreased low back compression forces regardless of participant height, but there was not a significant difference in shear forces. Thus, healthcare workers may experience less low back stress with the bed at a higher height. There may be a force tradeoff between the low back and other parts of the body that needs further exploration. Healthcare workers need to be made aware of the implications of adjusting the environment when performing patient handling tasks.