INTRODUCTION

Every day, people lift objects off the ground. Often, improper lifting can lead to injuries of the back. Some people use their knees more in bending down and others bend more at the hip. The practice of flexing at the hip creates an unnecessary strain on the back, since the risk of injury "is particularly high if the loads are lifted. . .with the knees straight" (MacFarlane et al., 1997). The injury could range from a single movement causing trauma to the back, or continuous loading could have a cumulative effect on the back over an extended period of time (Kumar, 1994). In fact, "regional back pain afflicts the elderly, the adolescent, and all ages in between (Hadler, 1996). This study seeks to find what the consequences are in flexing at the hip rather than flexing at the knees when lifting.

The motion of bending to pick up an object from the ground should be performed in the correct manner. The proper way of lifting, flexing at the knees, should never be compromised even if the environment may be awkward or unpleasant. Therefore, the overall purpose of this study is to collect data on the stoop vs. the squat to determine the biomechanical effects of flexing at the knee joint instead of the hip joint when lifting up objects from the ground.