A report by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs said that the global population of people in the 60 and above age group is rising rapidly. By the end of 2050, the global share of this age group is expected to grow to 21.1% from 11.7% in 2013. Additionally, the number of people in this age group is predicted to be around 324 million in India, 437 million in China, 58 million in Brazil, and 107 million in the U.S. by 2050. One of the major contributors of the growing elderly population is the increasing life expectancy rate.
Taking care of the bed-ridden patients or patients with restricted mobility can be taxing for caregivers. They have to perform many tasks, such as lifting, transferring them from one place to another, repositioning, bathing, and dressing a patient. Manual lifting of patients is one of the major risk factors of back pain for people working in the healthcare sector. These activities require caregivers to manually support the weight of the patient. This may put caregivers at a higher risk of developing musculoskeletal injuries. Certain techniques, such as arm and leg lift, shoulder lift, and Hook and Toss have been banned as they are discomforting and may worsen the condition of the patient.