The manual handling of the aggressive patient: a review of the risk of injury to nurses

Staff are injured more frequently than patients during the implementation of physical interventions. In essence the application of physical interventions is a form of manual handling, where the aggressive patient is the 'load'. In the non-mental healthcare environment, manual handling contributes to a large chunk of work-related musculoskeletal disorders. Applying physical interventions against an agitated and aggressive human load is a risk factor for injuries being sustained. This paper discusses physical interventions as a manual handling procedure as a possible explanation of injuries sustained to nursing staff from being in a team applying physical interventions. Possible strategies to reduce the risk of developing musculoskeletal disorders from physical interventions are discussed.