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“It hurts to sit, stand, reach, and bend!”
“A lower lumbar support wrap can brace a caregiver’s lower back when bending during daily ADLs. Strains, sprains and muscle spasms no more!”
Back pain is a bother for caregivers who bend all day. Back pain is a common sufferable for caregivers, HHAs, CNAs, and RNs - for some of them, all day long.
When caregiving, you must support another person’s body weight to support their mobility. Sometimes caregiving, you have to squat low and handle matters on the floor.
When heavy lifting, it’s best to get help from your coworkers. But oftentimes, the caregiver must do the heavy lifting themselves.
Over time, repetitive weight bearing activities can become extra strenuous on a caregiver’s back, especially for care workers with bariatric clients or who operate heavy medical machinery.
***Safety Warning: Don’t overlift and overexert yourself. Wearing a back brace doesn’t make you super(wo)man. Some people use a back brace as an excuse to do lifting that's too heavy, which can be dangerous.***
Graycare is NOT a doctor.
The back brace most preferred by healthcare workers is made with breathable fabric with a lumbar support pad wrapped around the lower part of your waist and back.
Direct care workers wear a back support when transferring adult clients from one position to another. Back support comes in handy when bending over to bathe and dress an adult head to toe.
While many caregivers work daily and wear a back brace, others wear it by necessity due to painful complications like a herniated disc, sciatica, or other injury.
Source: AbleThrive on YouTube “How to position then secure the straps of a lumbar support belt?”
Light stretching is one possible way to relieve back pain. Regular stretching is one possible way to prevent back pain. However, according to the United Spinal Association, more caregivers and homemakers are choosing to wear a back brace daily.
A back brace offering lumbar support fits just below your waist to support your lower back.
Many caregivers start wearing a back support brace to improve their posture while standing over 12-hour shifts. The back brace is a helpful reminder to avoid slouching. That’s power postures to prevent back pain.
The healthy habit of stretching can be done in parallel with wearing a back brace to double-down on back comfort.
Graycare is NOT a doctor.
Sizes: XS (24-31 inch waist), S, M, L, XL, XXL, XXXL (63-73 inch waist)
Wear it overtop or underneath your scrubs as preferred. For comfort, try wearing a t-shirt underneath your back brace. The length of this back support belt includes a wrap ranging from 39 to 69 inches length depending on your size. You wrap it around your lower back like a belt. You secure it by velcro on the ends of the wrap. Its composition includes a main lumbar support pad in the back above your coccyx, prodigy supports along the back and sides for all-around support, elastic mesh to keep it form fitting close to your body, and breathable fabrics for hot environments or when you sweat. Sparthos back brace has over 50,000 ratings and extremely positive reviews from people who’ve tried it and liked it.
Sizes: Small (22-30 inch waist), Regular (28-50 inch waist), Plus Size (50-70 inch waist)
Composition-wide, this Mueller brand back brace with lumbar support looks similar to the Sparthos aforementioned. Since this back brace wraps around your waist back onto itself in two layers, Mueller’s double layer design adjusts size and shape ergonomically as your body bends around. You fasten the left elastic strap on the inside, and then the right elastic strap on the outside to get elastic support from these two tension straps.
🛡️ Shop NeoTech Care on Amazon
Sizes: S (25.5-31.5 inch waist), M, L, XL, XXL, XXXL (48-53 inch waist)
The brace is 11 inches tall when wrapped around the body. That’s 3 inches taller than the Sparthos back brace, America’s most popular. A taller brace fits taller on your back, to offer both lower back and mid back relief. NeoTech Care brand’s lightweight back brace emphasizes comfort with ventilated fabric, and crisscross straps to fit close-to-skin.
***Note - If lumbar support is your primary purpose, then the Sparthos, Meuller, and NeoTech are top picks. You might also shop similar products from FREETOO, FEATOL, and BraceUp offer lower back support with a lower price tag.***
Sizes: S (100-140 pounds), M (150-180 pounds), L (190-200 pounds)
While the top three spots belong to lower back lumbar supports, this Fit Geno brand garment supports correct posture up to the shoulders. Don’t let the colorful arrows on online photos fool you, this unisex posture correction apparel is available in the colors black, gray, and pink. It’s fastened around your waist with two smaller elastic straps with velcro ends, then you pull tight the shoulder straps to keep standing up straight and tall.
🛡️ Shop BraceAbility on Amazon
Sizes: XL (45-50 inch waist), 2XL, 3XL, 4XL, 5XL, 6XL, 7XL (79-85 inch waist)
BraceAbility brand’s broad lumbar support back brace fits waist sizes from 45 inches up to 85 inches. Extended sizing fits a variety of shapes and plus size body styles with its latex-free fabric with extra padded lumbar support.
A lumbar support back brace that fits well provides optimal back support. So when purchasing a back brace, be sure to get the size right, XS, S, M, L, XL, XXL.
Smaller back braces fit a 24 to 31 inch waist for a person weighing 145-200 pounds. Larger back braces fit a 52-73 inch waist for a person weighing 300-345 pounds.
To determine your best fit, use flexible measuring tape to measure your waist at belly button level, and stay relaxed with room for comfortable breathing. That waist measure will match up with the size of back brace that’ll fit you for comfort and support.
A back brace addresses various back issues both chronic pain and acute, for long-term alleviation or for short-term recovery. It supports your spine, and corrects your posture, and promotes healthy body movement when carrying out direct care duties for a full-size adult client.
Caregivers who wear a back support belt to work rave great things about its comfort and relief. “A 12-hour shift lifesaver.” “I’m bending like Beckham again.” “Better than a chiropractor.”
