Many belts are designed with a rigid lumbar support, that makes it very uncomfortable for the wearer to bend at the waist. If worn property, bending becomes almost impossible and the wearer is forced to squat in front of the load and lift from the legs rather than placing any stress on the spine. As we know, bending to lift a load is the main cause of back injury. In addition to forcing the wearer to lift properly, many belts are also designed to be tightened around the waist to increase the intra-abdominal pressure. The effect of this feature is to inflate the abdominal cavity so that it supports part of the load, and this helps relieve the pressure on the spine as well as the back muscles.
Most belts use one or a combination of both principles to protect the wearer against back injuries.
In theory, this idea is a simple solution to a serious problem. SIDE Many industries currently using the belt are pleased with the results. They believe that the lumbar and abdominal support offered by these belts prevent over-stretched muscles and encourage squat lifting. Dr. Richard Schwartz, chair and associate professor of occupational therapy and director of the industrial injury prevention lab at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio, has conducted a number of studies on back supports and concludes that back supports can be effective. We found that there were no adverse effects that we could measure in terms of constriction of abdominal muscles.