It’s that time of year again! With up to 18 inches of snow scheduled to fall, it’s time to get our bodies ready for the great dig out to come and stop back pain before it starts!
But remember, it’s so easy for significant back injuries to occur when shoveling snow. Follow these general rules when you’re out there and cleaning up and you should be able to stop back pain before it starts.
PROPER SNOW SHOVELING TECHNIQUE AND BACK PAIN
When I treat patients for Physical Therapy, I do a lot of education regarding posture, especially when it pertains to daily activities. Living and growing up in New Jersey, you get used to snow and having to shovel. You also get used to the pain that accompanies having to spend a couple of hours outside shoveling snow in the winter months. But when you go out to shovel your driveway, or your car out of a side street parking spot, be sure to keep in mind these quick tips:
1) BEND YOUR LEGS. In my opinion, this is, by far, the most overlooked quick tip. Instead of bending your back over to scoop up snow, use more of your legs to squat, keeping your back as straight as possible, instead of keeping your legs straight and bending your back over
Take note of the usage of the legs & squatting as opposed to just bending of the back.
2) Push the snow as much as possible, and lessen the amount of lifting. This will help you to use more leg strength and put less strain on your back. If you don’t have to lift the snow, don’t! Your back will thank you for it at the end of the day.
3) Take frequent water and rest breaks. My general rule is to take a small break for rest and a sip of water every 15-20 minutes that you are outside shoveling. Snow shoveling is just like any other fitness or strenuous activity, only it’s one that you don’t perform frequently. Your body may tire faster because you’re just not used to doing the shoveling motions on a regular basis. And when you get tired, you know what happens: proper form goes right out the window and your chances for injury increase exponentially as you rush just to “get it done.” Remember, you want to get it done, but you don’t want to get injured in the process!
4) Use warm up and cool down stretches. As stated in #3, snow shoveling is quite an athletic activity. So you should treat it as such and give yourself the best possibility to avoid injury.
5) Wear proper clothing that will keep you warm and toasty. We all know that cold weather can already aggravate muscle and joint pain. So dress properly!
Warm muscles will stay loose and can significantly reduce the possibility for strains or sprains.
With these 5 simple tips as your guide, you’ll be able to stop back pain before it even starts! As you can see, many of these tips are quick tips that may seem simple in practice. However, in the real world, we all know that it’s very easy to forget the simple things. That’s how problems begin. As a back specialist, I see these injuries all the time. But if you keep these tips in mind, hopefully you’ll be ahead of the game and pain free at the end of the day!
Dr. James Pumarada is a licensed Physical Therapist and co-owner of Complete Physical Rehabilitation. With over 20+ years of treatment experience, he is a Sports Therapy Certified physical therapist, focusing on treating and training runners of all levels, and is one of the most sought after vestibular therapy specialists in Elizabeth and Jersey City where, along with his wife, Dr. Asha, they specialize in the treatment of all dizziness, vertigo, and imbalance issues.