It is that time of year again folks. The temperatures couldn’t be lower and there is snow all over the place. It is always around this time of year we have an influx of chiropractic patients who have injured themselves while shoveling. I’d like to share with the masses some proper shoveling techniques to help get us through this brutal Naperville winter.
RULE #1 GET A PROPER SHOVEL
-Look for a lighter-weight material such as plastic or aluminum.
-Purchase a shovel with the proper height. You want to minimize bending at the knees or arching your back too frequently to avoid spasms of the muscles or worse yet a joint or disc injury.
-Some shovels are sold with adjustable heights for different users
RULE #2 USE PROPER LIFTING TECHNIQUES
-Keep heavier loads in close toward your body
-Avoid twisting for the object you intend to lift next. As a chiropractor, the number one mechanism of Injury we see for low back injury is bending and twisting.
-That brings up my next point. BEND AT THE WAIST not at the low back. You want to maintain a proper lumbar lordotic arch when lifting by sticking your chest at towards the ground.
-Walk over to the place you intend on dispersing the snow as opposed to reaching far distances.
RULE #3 WARM-UP PROPERLY
-As silly as it may sound, stretching, walking, or jogging before doing strenuous lifting will help increase blood flow to the muscles while breaking the muscle-fascial plane that may help prevent some injury. The same should be said for all of our Naperville runners as well.
RULE #4 TAKE YOUR TIME!
-If the snow is quite deep start by shoveling just a few inches off the top to avoid very heavy loads
-Take frequent breaks! If you start to feel a strain in your low back or elsewhere take a break for a while.
We hope these tips can help get you through another frosty Naperville winter. If you or anyone you know is experiencing aches and pains from the long winter, CLICK HERE to make an appointment with one of our great Naperville Chiropractors.
