Safe patient handling and movement refers to policies and programs that enable health care workers to move patients and clients in a way that does not cause strain or injury.

Research has found that PTs and PTAs have a high rate of injury when doing manual lifts, making it especially important for members of the profession to have a thorough understanding of how to avoid risk factors for injury.

And when those risk factors are present, PTs and PTAs need to be involved in implementation strategies to improve the safety within their environments for themselves and their patients.