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Promoting Success in Agriculture for People with Disabilities and Their Families

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May 2003, Vol.3, No. 5

Table of Contents at bottom

Back Saving Assistive Technology Solutions

Assistive Technology Solutions for Lifting

As outlined in the NIOSH guide and other guides, a simplified series of steps to proper lifting usually includes: plan the lift; get assistance if necessary; proper positioning (or proper body mechanics); and lift with your legs, not your back. A similar multistep process is used to release the lifted object. While some lifting tasks require a human, many others can be more easily and safely done with a mechanical or electric/hydraulic lifting device. The AgrAbility Assistive Technology Database includes examples, such as chain hoists, cable winches, shop lift tables, hydraulic jacks, electric actuators, and other industrial material handling platforms. Remember, storing heavy objects on platforms that are at or above the knee height from the ground eliminates the need to lift them from ground level – the most difficult lifting movement.

An example of poor (on the left) versus proper (on the right) lifting body mechanics.

Assistive Technology Solutions for Bending

Any amount of bending can be painful for people with a back injury. For lighter objects, an assortment of commercial reachers can be used to help individuals reduce the need to bend. As an option, some of these reachers are designed or can be fitted with different “grabbers” (e.g., magnetic grabbers commonly used in automotive repair shops to pick up small parts that may drop into engine compartments, pinching grabbers used to grasp smaller items off shelves and benches).

Fresh market farmers might use a Garden Scoot to reduce the need for repetitive bending while working from one plant to the next. A simple home-built garden cart may also reduce the amount of time spent bending over small plants. Another popular adaptation, especially for those experiencing back or arthritic joint pain, is to raise the garden bed.⁸ For gardening or yard work, extended handles can be added to shovels, rakes, or hoes, which may reduce the user’s need to bend. In addition, some shovel and rake handles are bent to further reduce the need for the user to bend.

For farmers milking in traditional stanchion barns, portable milking stools allow him/her a seated position rather than having to stand and bend over while handling and monitoring the milking machines. Some swine facilities have been adapted to use raised decks that allow farmers to access the smaller pigs without bending (or bending as far). Poultry producers might consider automating their feeding systems to avoid lifting heavy bags of feed.

When objects can be worked on in the farm shop, having a height-adjustable workstation or powered table to eliminate the need for a person to bend over is advantageous. Likewise, around the farm home, proper ergonomic principles should be applied to common work areas, such as a computer workstation and sewing or laundry-folding tables.

Assistive Technology Solutions for Carrying Objects

Transporting objects while using poor body mechanics (e.g., being bent or slumped over, twisting from side to side to balance a heavy load, holding the object extended away from the body) can put unnecessary strain on the back and other parts of the musculoskeletal system. Often the simple solution is to not transport the object manually (by hand). If the object must be transported, and using some sort of wheeled or powered cart to transport the object is not feasible, the next best solution to prevent back injury is to limit the weight of the object by taking smaller loads and making more trips.

When available, use a wheeled or powered cart to transport smaller objects. Many options are available for indoor and outdoor use around the farm/ranch. Sometimes, easy solutions are the best, like adding a gate wheel to the end of a sagging gate allowing a person to roll the gate open and closed versus carrying it. Likewise, rather than carrying a ladder from site to site, the addition of a wheel allows the ladder to be rolled there. In fact, adding wheels to everything from panel toters to wheelbarrows has become a popular idea for standard commercial items. Several companies even manufacture specialized drum dollies for transporting and pouring oil and for fuel barrels.

To transport medium sized/weight objects around the farm/ranch, the tool of choice is either a utility vehicle or a four-wheel drive pickup truck. Utility vehicles, such as the Kawasaki Mule or the John Deere Gator, are available with helpful options, such as dump box or winch. Utility vehicles are also offered with 4- and 6-wheel drive, to allow them to navigate rough/muddy terrain, and to handle the hauling tasks for many remote or hard to access areas of the operation. Pickup trucks can be fitted with dump beds, powered lift gates, or bed cranes and may be easier to adapt if hand controls are necessary.

Finally, for larger and/or heavier objects that are difficult to handle, the ultimate transport tool for most farmers/ranchers is either a skid steer or a farm tractor equipped with a loader. Several companies offer skid steer models that can be operated with hand controls, and JCB even offers a model with a side-entry door, for ease of entry and exit.

Gates will swing easily with this east to install gate wheel from Gempler’s Inc. It adjusts to any height up to 24” in diameter for those areas where the gate is on an incline or uneven ground.

Using a powered wheelbarrow, such as the DR Powerwagon from Country Home Products, may reduce back strain associated with carrying heavy loads.

Assistive Technology Solutions for Seating

Assuming the seat has been properly fit to the user, the two most important things farmers/ranchers can do to prevent back pain or injury when seated are to maintain proper position and not sit for too long. However, if someone does not maintain the proper seating position or take frequent breaks from sitting, even the many ergonomically designed chairs equipped with lumbar support and adjustable armrests cannot prevent back pain or injury. When appropriate, all seating should be selected and adjusted for the individual user and machine, including tractor and other self-propelled farm/ranch equipment. (Note: For further information on tractor seating, please refer to the Proper Seating and Positioning for Tractor Operators Affected by Spinal Cord Injuries Tip Sheet.)