Our Snow Shoveling Tips to Protect Your Back

Winter wouldn’t be winter without a little snow. But with all that snow comes shoveling, along with the risk of injury. It doesn’t matter if you only have a couple of inches to clear or are dealing with shoveling after a blizzard, you still need to practice safe techniques to protect your back. Here are our tips.

Get Warmed Up

You may not consider shoveling to be exercise, but your body doesn’t know the difference. That’s why you need to treat snow shoveling as physical activity, and physical activity requires a warm-up.
Take the time to do some arm and back stretches. March in place to get your blood pumping and muscles warm to help prevent injury during shoveling.
You’ll also want to be sure to warm your hamstrings up. Your hamstrings are a large group of muscles at the back of your legs that have a huge impact on your lower back, and they put in a lot of work when you go through the motions of shoveling.

Use the Right Equipment

If you want to avoid injury while shoveling, it’s important to use the right equipment. Make sure you have a shovel that is the right size. A shorter handled shovel can reduce strain put on your back. When the shovel’s handle is too long, it can cause you to strain too much while lifting snow simply because it is too far from your body’s center.
Ergonomic shovels have a curved handle and have become more popular in recent years. They can help prevent the need to bend forward as you shovel, reducing the strain put on your low back. When you are lifting, remember to use your legs and not your back!

Get Adjusted at Livingston County Chiropractic Center

Our chiropractors want you to make the most of the winter weather, but that’s hard to do if you’re dealing with back pain from snow shoveling. To protect your back and health, click here to request an appointment with your local Pontiac, IL chiropractor.

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