Lifting, ladders and kneeling, easier ways to tackle DIY jobs
Dr Nicola Tik
A free weekend, a list of jobs and a trip to the DIY shop can be surprisingly satisfying. But by Sunday evening, your shoulders might ache from painting the ceiling, your knees from laying flooring, or your back from carrying it all in from the car. How you lift, reach and kneel can make a big difference to how your body feels when the job is done.
DIY jobs often ask your body to do things it does not do much during a working week. You might carry heavy materials, hold your arms above your head for long stretches, or kneel on a hard floor for an hour. Many of these positions are fine in short bursts. They start to add up when you hold them for a long time without a break.
The good news is that a few changes to how you set up each task can take much of that strain away.
The further a heavy load is from your body, the harder your back has to work to hold it. Keeping it close makes a real difference.
Something to try:
When lifting from the floor, bending your knees and keeping the load close tends to feel easier than reaching down with straight legs.
Painting a ceiling, fitting a light or putting up shelves can mean holding your arms above your head for long periods. Research on people who work with their arms raised shows that the higher your elbows go above your shoulders, and the longer you stay there, the more your shoulders tend to feel it. In one large survey, people who often worked overhead were around 18% more likely to report arm aches.
Something to try is bringing the job closer to you instead. Standing on a sturdy platform, rather than reaching up from the floor, keeps your hands nearer chest height. An extension pole on a paint roller lets you paint a ceiling without lifting your arms so high. Working in short bursts and lowering your arms between them gives your shoulders a regular break.
Ladders are one of the most useful DIY tools, and a few simple habits keep them that way. The most important is keeping three points of contact, meaning two hands and one foot, or two feet and one hand, on the ladder at all times. Research suggests people recover their balance more easily after a slip when they have three points of contact.
Some other habits that help:
Laying flooring, tiling or fixing skirting boards can mean kneeling for long periods. Kneeling puts direct pressure on the front of your knees, especially on hard floors.
Knee pads or a thick kneeling mat spread that pressure and make kneeling much more comfortable. Changing position regularly helps too. You could alternate between kneeling, crouching and sitting on a low stool, rather than staying in one position for the whole job.
The right tool can save your hands and arms a lot of effort. Heavier tools take more grip force to hold, so lighter cordless tools can make longer jobs easier. Sharp blades and drill bits need less force to cut, and tools with cushioned grips are kinder to your hands. Letting a power tool do the work, rather than pushing hard on it, also reduces the effort on your arms.
It is tempting to push on and finish everything in one go. Taking a short break every 30 to 40 minutes, and switching between different types of tasks, gives different parts of your body a chance to rest. Your body will thank you for it on Monday morning.