Snow Shoveling
The more you understand your body and how it
functions, the better equipped you'll be at taking care
of yourself to achieve optimal health. We've included
the Patient Education section on our website to provide
you with valuable, practical wellness information which
you can incorporate into your lifestyle to improve the
quality of your life. We hope you will turn to these
pages whenever you have a question about health related
issues and urge you to contact our practice at any time
to make an appointment
with one of our doctors.
As far as household chores are concerned, snow shoveling is one of the most stressful and traumatic household chores you can do to your spinal cord and muscles.
When shoveling, consider these tips:
When shoveling, consider these tips:
- Make sure your body is properly conditioned before donning your winter coat and grabbing your snow shovel. Warmed up muscles will be less likely to tighten up or snap when under the strains of snow shoveling. You can warm up by taking a brisk walk or doing simple stretching exercises such as knee-to-chest pulls, trunk rotations, and side bends with hands above your head and fingers locked.
- Layer your clothing to keep from over-heating. This helps to keep your muscles warm and flexible.
- Stand erect and push the snow straight ahead; avoid lifting and tossing heavy loads of snow. And especially avoid twisting when holding a shovel full of heavy snow. Bend at your knees-not your waist-to lift when shoveling. Rest frequently to take the strain off your muscles. Try to stand as erect as possible.