why is a limp body so much harder to pick up than a rigid/tense one?
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Centre of gravity. Body with rigor mortis, a rigid one only has one centre of gravity, easier to balance and pick it up. Non rigid body, a squishy one has multiple center of gravity as if every part of the body act as their own. If you pick the body up in the middle (around stomach) you will have at least two centre of gravity, each on the upper and lower part of it. To make it easier, put the body inside a container where that container is a rigid one, thus easier to move it.
Former EMT here. In my experience it’s like trying to pick up heavy pieces of jello that move. Each leg and arm has a certain amount of weight to it. Also the human body is soft and flexible, add in gravity and it’s very difficult to pick up, especially if the person is overweight or obese.
When we had to move patients, imagine you try to pick someone up by the arms, but the arms are two pieces of dead weight that want to flop around due to gravity.
That’s why we train to grab the patient by the arms or the legs and drag them away from the fire or dangerous location.
A limp body weighs the same as a rigid one. So the physical effort is the same to move, but it becomes an issue of coordination and just managing everything separately.
Its like trying to move a mattress by yourself, its not that heavy but since it flops all over the place it can be difficult to manoeuvre it around, without enough hands to help you. Wheres moving a box spring around by yourself is very easy as you can control the orientation of the entire object just from your one vantage point.
Try picking up a 2 metre piece of rope or a similar size and weight of wood. Getting the whole length or rope up won’t be as easy as just picking up a rigid piece of wood.
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